OIPA Comments on EPA’s Withdrawal of Data Request on Oil & Gas Equipment and Emissions

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Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association Vice President of Governmental Affairs Tim Wigley released the following statement regarding the withdrawal of an EPA request for oil and natural gas operators to provide information on equipment and emissions at existing operations:

“Today’s announcement is a clear signal that the days of burdensome and costly regulations put on the industry by the Obama administration have come to a close and that developing American energy sources is a priority for the new administration. The EPA’s information request was unnecessary and put a financial burden on smaller oil and natural gas operators without the staff or budget to compile the information.

Oklahoma oil and gas producers have already implemented significant efforts to reduce methane emissions to maximize the return on their drilling investment. Allowing a valuable commodity like natural gas to escape into the atmosphere makes no economic sense, especially in today’s low-price environment.

It is not obtuse government regulations but innovation and technological advancements that have given oil and natural gas producers the ability to take significant strides in reducing and eliminating methane emissions at well sites, putting that captured natural gas on the market for the benefit of American consumers.”