Trump Says He Will End Biden-Era Methane Rules for Oil and Gas Drillers
President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration will end Biden-era methane rules for oil and gas drilling, a move he said would save $45 billion. Environmental groups said the rollback gives drillers a free pass on gas that could be captured and used.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration will end a Biden-era rule meant to cut methane emissions from oil and gas drilling, a rollback he said would save companies and consumers $45 billion.
Trump announced the move at a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton. He said the rule “crushed the small operators” with regulations and that ending it would also unlock 210 million barrels of oil, equal to about 10 days of U.S. petroleum use.
Methane is the main component of natural gas. It leaks from drilling equipment or is burned off as a waste product, and scientists estimate it accounts for about a third of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Oil and gas operations are the largest industrial source of the gas, which traps far more heat than carbon dioxide in the short term.
What the rollback changes
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin previewed the changes last month. He said the agency would end its “Super Emitter Program,” which requires companies to find and fix large methane releases, and set less strict standards for small oil and gas wells. Zeldin has said the Biden rule would have cost $18 billion and held back the U.S. energy industry.
The Biden rule, published in 2024, was the first to cover existing wells as well as new ones. It also required operators to plug leaks from smaller wells that produce just 6% of the nation’s oil and gas while accounting for up to half of all methane emissions from oil and gas fields, according to the Associated Press. The EPA imposed an 18-month delay on parts of the rule last year to give companies time to meet inspection requirements.
Federal officials under Biden said the rule would prevent an estimated 58 million tons of methane emissions by 2038. By 2034, they projected $98 billion in benefits, a figure based on the future social costs of greenhouse gas emissions for public health and the environment, an approach the Trump EPA has rejected.
The rule was paired with a methane fee in the 2022 climate law that would have charged producers as much as $1,500 per metric ton of methane above a set level. It was the first time the federal government directly charged for greenhouse gas emissions. Congress repealed the fee weeks after Trump took office.
Reaction from environmental groups
Environmental groups said the rollback lets companies keep releasing gas that could be captured and used to heat homes. Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp said the move gives a “free pass” to companies at the expense of American consumers.
“EPA should be fighting this waste, not making it easier,” Krupp said.
The rollback is part of a wider effort by Trump and Republicans in Congress to take apart climate policies put in place under former President Joe Biden. That effort has included the revocation of a scientific finding that underpinned federal action on greenhouse gases, lower fuel economy standards for vehicles, and a move to repeal emission limits for coal and natural gas power plants.
The Associated Press reports the move aims to encourage more domestic drilling as Trump faces criticism over high fuel prices amid the war in Iran.
Reporting based on coverage by the Associated Press.
