Trump's Methane Rollback That Big Oil Doesn't Want

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/13/901863874/trumps-methane-rollback-that-big-oil-doesn-t-want

 

 

August 13, 20205:00 AM ET
Jeff Brady

Updated at 4:40 p.m. ET

Despite opposition from the oil and gas industry it aims to help, the Trump administration is rolling back an Obama-era rule designed to reduce climate-warming methane emissions.

Methane is the main ingredient in natural gas. But when it's released before it burns, say from a leaky valve at a drilling site, it's far more potent than carbon dioxide. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the oil and gas industry is the largest source of methane emissions in the United States.

The Trump administration rule would eliminate a 2016 requirement that oil and gas companies monitor and limit methane leaks from wells, compressor stations and other operations.

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But some large oil companies want the Obama rules left in place.

Shell, BP and the Exxon Mobil Corp. have big natural gas portfolios. They worry that if methane emissions aren't controlled that could undermine arguments that natural gas is a cleaner-burning fossil fuel than coal.

"The negative impacts of leaks and fugitive emissions have been widely acknowledged for years, so it's frustrating and disappointing to see the administration go in a different direction," said Gretchen Watkins, Shell's president in the United States.

Watkins said her company will continue with its plan to reduce methane emissions. The oil industry is split on this though, as smaller companies say the requirements are too expensive for them.

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While carbon dioxide makes up most of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., methane has 84 times the heat absorbing power of CO2 during its first two decades in the atmosphere. Last month, scientists with the Global Carbon Project reported that methane emissions had reached their highest levels on record.

"The Trump administration's decision to reverse course is deeply and fundamentally flawed," said Peter Zalzal, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund. His group estimates the effect will be about the same as adding greenhouse gas emissions from 100 coal-fired power plants every year.

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