Trump Terminates Biden Methane Rules With EPA Projecting $45B in Oil and Gas Savings
President Trump said his administration is terminating the Biden-era methane rules for oil and gas producers, speaking at a rally in Lubbock, Texas on Oct. 27.
The Environmental Protection Agency's proposal would loosen leak standards for low-producing wells and ease restrictions on flaring, the burning off of excess gas during production. It would also scrap the Super Emitter Program, which requires companies to act on credible reports of large methane releases.
Marginal wells, also called stripper wells, produce a small share of US oil and gas yet account for roughly half of the sector's methane emissions.
The administration estimates the changes will save the sector $45B and unlock an extra 210M barrels of oil and 1.41T cubic feet of natural gas between 2027 and 2050.
That's roughly 10 days of current US oil consumption and 15 days of gas use, based on daily demand of about 21M barrels and 92B cubic feet.
Rollback adds about two weeks of US energy supply, spread over 24 years
Administration's projected extra output from 2027 to 2050, expressed in days of current US daily consumption (21M barrels of oil, 92B cubic feet of gas)
Bar chart. Days of current US consumption. Oil: Days of Consumption 10. Natural gas: Days of Consumption 15.
Fuel prices are the political backdrop
The announcement landed a week before the midterm elections, with polls showing high fuel costs ranking as a top voter concern.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has argued the Biden rule would have cost $18B and restrained the energy industry.
The National Stripper Well Association, which represents operators of these small wells, pushed for the rollback, saying compliance costs would push its members' wells below profitability. Many are already near the end of their productive lives.
The rollback still needs a rulemaking process
Before anything takes effect, the EPA must run a rulemaking process with a public comment period, and legal challenges are expected.
The Natural Resources Defense Council's David Doniger said he expects another lawsuit over the proposal.
The 2024 Biden rule was the first to cover existing wells, and officials projected it would keep about 58M tons of methane out of the air by 2038.
Environmental and health groups pushed back, with the American Lung Association warning that other pollutants released alongside methane would rise too.
Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp said the rollback gives companies a free pass at consumers' expense.
The methane move follows the agency's February repeal of vehicle emissions rules and its decision last month to roll back limits on coal- and gas-fired power plants. A separate methane fee of up to $1,500 per metric ton, created by the 2022 climate law, was repealed by Congress weeks into Trump's term.
