Local oil and gas producers to be impacted by new rules
by: Roland Richter
click here to read the original article at Fox 44 News
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas
Central Texas (FOX44) – Oil and gas producers in several Central Texas counties will be among those impacted by new rules announced by the Environmental Protection agency over the weekend.
The final rule that will sharply reduce methane and potential air pollutants from the oil and natural gas industry was announced by EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan and President Biden’s National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi Saturday at a conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates .
An EPA press release said the final rule includes reduction standards that address the largest sources of methane and other pollutants at oil and gas facilities, including methane that leaks or is vented from equipment and processes. Among other things, the final rule will:
• phase in a requirement to eliminate routine flaring of natural gas that is produced by new oil wells;
• require comprehensive monitoring for leaks of methane from well sites and compressor stations, while giving oil and gas companies flexibility to use low-cost and innovative methane monitoring technologies; and
• establish standards that require reductions in emissions from high-emitting equipment like controllers, pumps, and storage tanks.
The EPA said the rule would achieve a nearly 80 percent reduction below the future methane emissions expected without the rule.
The new restrictions on flaring go well beyond previous proposals.
The EPA’s rule, according to The Hill, also includes a program that will require oil and gas companies to investigate large releases of methane when those releases are identified by certified third parties.
“BP welcomes the finalization of a federal methane rule for new, modified and – for the first time – existing sources,” said Orlando Alvarez, chairman and president of BP America, in the EPA press release. “We appreciate the collaborative way EPA, NGOs and industry worked together on this rulemaking.”
The new rule rolls back a previous Trump Administration rule that had rolled back methane regulations.
An article in The Hill stated that methane is a planet-warming gas that is more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for about 25 percent of global warming.
It mainly comes from the production and transport of fossil fuels — as well as from livestock and other agriculture and decaying waste in landfills. Natural gas is primarily made up of methane.
by: Roland Richter
click here to read the original article at Fox 44 News
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas