The Biden administration’s recently announced plans to fine oil and gas operators for methane emissions is being fought by the American Petroleum Institute.
The group, representing nearly 600 members and the oil and gas industry’s nearly 11 million U.S. jobs came out against the EPA’s proposed rule to establish a fee on methane emissions as required by the Methane Emissions Reduction Program in the Inflation Reduction Act.
“As the world looks to U.S. energy producers to provide stability in an increasingly unstable world, this punitive tax increase is a serious misstep that undermines America’s energy advantage,” declared Dustin Meyer,API Senior Vice President of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs.
“While we support smart federal methane regulation, this proposal creates an incoherent, confusing regulatory regime that will only stifle innovation and undermine our ability to meet rising energy demand. We look forward to working with Congress to repeal the IRA’s misguided new tax on American energy.”
He went on to state the API is concerned that a lack of coordination between policymakers shaping various methane regulations could result in regulatory incoherence.
The U.S. natural gas and oil industry is taking action to reduce methane emissions while continuing to produce affordable, reliable energy. Average methane emissions intensity declined by nearly 66 percent across all seven major producing regions from 2011 to 2021.
Industry-led initiatives like The Environmental Partnership, whose members make up nearly 70% of the U.S. onshore natural gas and oil industry, are helping to accelerate progress on methane emissions reductions by driving collaboration and sharing best practices across the industry.
