Energy Exchange: Methane Regulations

By Andrew Baxter “Very soon nobody is going to be able to hide from methane leakage,” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said back in 2019 . Now, the convergence of new satellites, new climate commitments and new market demands means that day is here. Some companies have been girding for it; others are lagging. Either way, […]

By Elizabeth Lieberknecht Texas’ primary oil and gas regulator, the Texas Railroad Commission, took the unfortunate — though not surprising — step last month of requesting legal action against EPA’s recently finalized commonsense methane rules. This is unfortunate because, once implemented, these rules will protect public health, limit climate change and energy waste. It is not […]

Last week, EPA proposed details for how it will administer Congress’s methane waste emissions charge for excessive oil and gas pollution, passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Methane Emissions Reduction Program in 2022.   The waste charge is a fee on excessive methane pollution that applies to the largest polluting facilities in the oil […]

Last week, EPA Administrator Regan announced final standards to cut methane and harmful local air pollution from both new and existing facilities in the oil and gas industry.   Diverse stakeholders ranging from major oil-producing states like New Mexico to tribal air agencies to oil and gas producers and methane mitigation companies have all voiced support […]

In a move that will protect communities across the country, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will soon finalize new rules to reduce methane and other toxic, smog-forming  pollution from the nation’s oil and gas industry. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that’s fueling much of the climate crisis due to the excessive warming it creates […]

New research from Colorado State University reveals significant quantities of methane leaking from the state’s orphaned oil and gas wells — an urgent problem for the state to address as the number of abandoned oil and gas wells have surged in recent months. This study underlines the importance of both the state’s efforts to plug […]

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources has finalized new rules to help improve management of 17,000 non-productive oil and gas wells by encouraging their proper closure —an action that will create jobs, raise property values across the state and facilitate new clean energy projects.   Louisiana has a long history of oil and gas development, […]

By John Rutecki As we wrap up a summer of sweltering heat waves and dangerous air quality, new poll results show strong majorities of Pennsylvanians want action to address the climate crisis. The poll from EDF Action, Earthworks Action Fund, Sierra Club and Clean Air Task Force Action found that the majority of Pennsylvanians support […]

The New York Public Service Commission recently approved a certified natural gas pilot program proposed by Con Edison, the gas and electric utility for much of New York City. Under the pilot, Con Edison may pay a premium for limited amounts of natural gas that is purportedly certified as having lower methane emissions than the […]

By Adam Peltz and Meg Coleman Across the country, a million or more orphaned oil and gas wells threaten the climate, public health, groundwater and surface waters and hamper local economic development. Help is on the way thanks to a major federal effort to invest $4.7 billion in closing orphan wells under the Revive Economic […]

By Adam Peltz and Elizabeth Lieberknecht  Recently, Louisiana, under the leadership of Gov. John Bel Edwards, became the latest state taking action to curb pollution and waste from oil and gas production. In a new proposal, the state says it will limit natural gas venting and flaring and attempt to reduce the risk of thousands […]

By Nini Gu On Thursday, July 20th we saw a major shift in how methane emissions from oil and gas sources can be regulated, and to no one’s surprise it came from the nation’s leading state on this issue: Colorado. Methane is a potent, fast acting climate pollutant causing about a quarter of current global […]

By Ari Pottens and Maureen Lackner New research confirms that cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector is one of the fastest and most affordable steps Canada can take to help address the climate crisis. According to the report by Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors, Canada’s upstream oil and gas companies can eliminate […]

By Ari Pottens and Scott Seymour It’s no secret that the rampant, out-of-control wildfires which are devastating parts of Canada and creating toxic air quality conditions for millions of people, are exacerbated by climate change. This makes it all the more crucial to rapidly reduce the greenhouse gases behind the climate crisis. In 2020, Canada’s […]

By Adam Peltz & Kate Roberts This week, the Department of the Interior announced nearly $660 million in grant funding to plug orphan wells across the U.S., adding to $560 million in initial funding from last summer. The news comes on the heels of new research led by researchers at McGill University and EDF experts […]

By Morgan Rote Governments and industry around the world are wagering big on hydrogen to solve the climate and clean energy challenge. But woefully insufficient global progress toward establishing strong climate, safety, social and sustainability standards is threatening to compromise the hydrogen market before it has a chance to get started. With the looming threats […]

New research reveals methane emissions from Saskatchewan’s oil and gas industry are much higher than previously thought. Fortunately, the Trudeau government has a tremendous opportunity to address this problem as it crafts next year’s federal budget and demonstrates its commitment to ratchet down climate pollution. Methane is the primary ingredient of natural gas and a major […]

By Edwin LaMair and Grace Smith The US Congress recently passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which takes bold action to address the climate crisis. Multiple independent analyses show the bill could reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 2005 levels by 2030, providing important support for President Biden’s goal of halving emissions by 2030. […]

Russia’s war on Ukraine has sent painful shockwaves through global gas markets — not only in Europe but across Asia and in developing economies that can least afford it. The crisis is accelerating efforts to transition to cleaner, safer, more reliable energy, while setting off a scramble for new gas supplies to backfill what once […]

By Ben Hmiel and Jon Goldstein After three years of actively collecting methane emissions data in the Permian Basin, researchers have gained new insights that will make it easier to reduce emissions of the incredibly potent greenhouse gas methane. These insights are helping inform state and federal regulatory approaches at a critical time.  Download the […]