For illustrative purposes only, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management announced March 27, 2024, it is cracking down on methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on federal and tribal lands, date and location not specified | iStock / Getty Images Plus, St. George News
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration issued a final rule Wednesday aimed at curbing methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on federal and tribal lands, its latest action to crack down on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming.
The rule issued by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management will tighten limits on gas flaring on federal lands and require that energy companies improve methods to detect methane leaks that add to planet-warming greenhouse gas pollution.
The action follows a more comprehensive methane-reduction plan announced by the Environmental Protection Agency in December. The plan, announced at a global climate conference in the United Arab Emirates, targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focusing only on new wells, as previous EPA regulations have done. It also regulates smaller wells that are now required to find and plug methane leaks.
What does this mean for Utah?
This is an active industry in the Beehive state, and according to the webpage “BLM Oil and Gas Utah“:
The Rocky Mountain Region holds large reserves of conventional and unconventional onshore oil and gas deposits. Utah’s natural gas fuels not only homes and businesses in Utah; it also is used by surrounding states. Utah also produces a significant amount of crude oil, primarily from the Uintah Basin in the eastern part of the state.
Public lands are offered for oil and gas leasing after they are nominated by the industry and the BLM evaluates environmental factors. Leasing decisions are based upon land use plans that consider the many resources and uses of public lands and their impacts on one another. Once lands are leased, applications to conduct exploration, drilling, and production-related activities are reviewed to ensure technical competence, environmental protection, and mineral resources conservation. The BLM is responsible for approving and inspecting drilling and production operations.
The Utah Division of Environmental Quality, meanwhile, released a report on Feb. 29 outlining a statewide emissions reduction plan.
Among the topics covered is funding, and the DEQ said the anticipated overall cost for addressing methane emissions would be $2.5 million over five years and would involve evaluation, technology implementation and constant analysis to ensure the goals of the program are met.
Oil and gas production is the nation’s largest industrial source of methane, the primary component of natural gas, and is a key target for Biden as his administration seeks to combat climate change. Methane is a climate “super pollutant” that is many times more potent in the short term than carbon dioxide.
Reaction to announcement varies
The rule issued Wednesday updates regulations that are more than 40 years old and will hold oil and gas companies accountable by imposing stricter limits on flaring and requiring energy companies to find and fix leaks, administration officials said. At the same time, officials said they are moving to ensure that American taxpayers and tribal mineral owners are fairly compensated through higher royalty payments proposed last year.
The final rule will help “prevent waste, protect our environment and ensure a fair return to American taxpayers,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.
“By leveraging modern technology and best practices to reduce natural gas waste, we are taking long-overdue steps that will increase accountability for oil and gas operators and benefit energy communities now and for generations to come,” she said.
The rule, which takes effect in June, is expected to generate more than $50 million per year in additional royalties while preventing billions of cubic…
Read More: Feds crack down on methane emissions. How will this impact Utah? – St George