EPA limits methane emissions

Abstract

In a move to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, EPA on May 12 issued its first-ever regulations to reduce methane releases by the oil and natural gas sector. The regulations apply to new, modified, and reconstructed oil and gas operations. Similar rules for millions of existing oil and gas drilling and production facilities are on hold as the agency collects additional information. Under the new rules, operations are expected to capture some 460,000 metric tons of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, by 2025, EPA says. The regulations will also reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds, which are precursors to ground-level ozone or smog, and toxic air pollutants, EPA adds. In addition to natural gas operations, the new rules cover hydraulically fractured oil wells that hold large amounts of natural gas, which is mainly methane, along with oil. The regulations require these operations to phase in technologies to capture methane. The