Aug 18, 2015 U.S. Oil, Gas Producers Call Methane Regs ‘Costly’ with ‘Few Environmental Benefits’
From IPAA President and CEO Barry Russell:
“Independent oil and natural gas producers drill 90 percent of the nation’s wells. The Administration is proposing a costly and complicated regulatory program for few environmental benefits. The unnecessary costs and added uncertainty resulting from the Administration’s proposals could inflict more pain on the men and women who work in the oil and gas industry — at a time when market forces are already creating economic challenges.
“EPA’s additional regulatory scheme is not needed to meet the goals set in the President’s Climate Action plan for the exploration and production segment. According to EPA data, Clean Air Act (CAA) regulations will achieve the Administration’s Climate Action Plan goal of reducing methane emissions 40-45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025.
“There are over one million existing oil and natural gas wells in the United States. None of these wells individually is a major Greenhouse Gas emitter. Oil and natural gas exploration and production methane emissions, in the context of all U.S. Greenhouse Gas emissions, are small and declining. The oil and natural gas exploration and production sector accounts for 1.07 percent of total U.S. Greenhouse Gas emissions. In fact, EPA’s own data show that methane emissions from hydraulic fracturing are already declining despite rising production levels.
“The Administration could have worked with industry to develop a less burdensome and more cost-effective emission reduction program such as the Administration chose to do with the agriculture industry. For the agriculture industry – which accounts for more than triple the amount of methane emissions as the oil and natural gas exploration and production sector – EPA determined that a voluntary program was sufficient to achieve emission reductions.”
