Why It Matters
Oil and gas companies, gas processing plants, and storage tank owners would face weaker methane emissions limits under an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to roll back parts of its 2024 regulations covering the crude oil and natural gas sector.
The rollback would weaken protections governing thousands of new sources and hundreds of thousands of existing sources in the crude oil and natural gas sector. EPA estimates the primary proposal would reduce equivalent annualized costs by approximately $2.7 billion per year over the 2027-2050 period. The agency's own modeling projects the changes would add 60 million short tons of methane emissions over that period.
The Big Picture
The agency says it "very likely underestimated costs because the actual costs of compliance are likely higher than the EPA anticipated in the March 2024 Final Rule." The proposal advances Executive Order 14154, "Unleashing American Energy," and Executive Order 14156, "Declaring a National Energy Emergency," both issued Jan. 20, 2025. Comments are due Dec. 16, and EPA is seeking comment on all requirements from the March 2024 final rule, not only those directly addressed in this proposal.
What Changes
- Super Emitter Program: EPA proposes to rescind the program entirely, eliminating third-party certification, technology certification, and operator obligations to respond to notifications of methane emissions of 100 kilograms per hour or greater. Implementation had already been extended to Jan. 22, 2027, and has not yet taken effect.
- Associated gas from oil wells: The 2024 rule generally required new oil wells to route associated gas to a sales line rather than routinely flare it, subject to specified exceptions. The proposal would replace that requirement with an option to route gas to a control device or flare achieving at least a 95% reduction in methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.
- Well-site subcategories: EPA proposes two alternative approaches and would finalize one: a "marginal well site" subcategory for sites where all wells produce an average of 15 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day or less over the preceding 12 months, or a "conventional well" subcategory with reduced requirements for conventional wells. The agency states that wells producing 15 boe per day or less account for approximately 78%-80% of existing U.S. oil and natural gas wells but represented approximately 7% of total U.S. oil and natural gas production in 2024.
- Gas processing facilities: Owners and operators would gain the option to conduct optical gas imaging surveys under Appendix K, an alternative not currently permitted under the existing standards.
The Law Now and After
Today, 40 C.F.R. § 60.5400c establishes equipment leak standards for onshore natural gas processing plants under the emissions guidelines for existing sources in Subpart OOOOc. The proposal would revise equipment leak requirements at gas processing facilities and provide additional compliance flexibility, including the use of optical gas imaging surveys under Appendix K.
Similarly, 40 C.F.R. § 60.5400b establishes equipment leak standards for onshore natural gas processing plants under the new source performance standards in Subpart OOOOb. EPA proposes changes affecting those standards, while the marginal well site and conventional well site subcategories would be established through separate provisions governing well sites.
The proposed revisions are not final. Existing requirements remain in place, subject to previously adopted compliance extensions.
The Fight Over the Rule
The American Petroleum Institute supported the proposal as a way to address compliance challenges, while the Environmental Defense Fund argued that capturing gas rather than losing it could offset compliance costs, NPR reported. Sierra Club campaign director Mahyar Sorour criticized the proposal as a giveaway to fossil fuel executives, Reuters reported.
CNBC reported that EPA's own modeling projected the proposal would add 60 million short tons of methane emissions from 2027 to 2050, while EPA estimated approximately $45 billion in savings over that period. The agency's regulatory impact analysis also projects increases of 17 million short tons of VOC emissions and 2.3 million short tons of hazardous air pollutant emissions under its primary proposal.
The Bottom Line
Comments are due Dec. 16 under docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0163. EPA has scheduled a virtual public hearing for Nov. 16, with advance registration for speakers closing Nov. 10. The agency is also requesting comments on its information collection provisions, which it can best ensure consideration of if the Office of Management and Budget receives them by Nov. 30.
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