Joe Biden and his administration’s obsession with global warming climate change have come up with a plan that will put a large number of oil and gas well operators out of business.
Over the next two years they will force all new and existing well owners to implement new expensive rules to stop methane leaks. Biden claims this will turbocharge climate action in the country.
Here’s more via WSJ:
The Biden administration is slapping tough new regulations on the oil-and-gas industry, requiring operators to plug methane leaks and stop burning excess gas with flares. The regulations also mandate regular inspections of facilities to make sure the planet-warming compound isn’t escaping into the atmosphere.
Administration officials say the methane rule, which will be phased in over the next two years after two years of contentious debate, will cool the planet and improve public health.
Industry groups say it will put some owners of wells out of business.
For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency is set to require both new and existing methane sources—pumps, wells, compressor stations and other related operations—to comply with the agency’s environmental standards. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the final rule Saturday at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
“We’ve crafted these technology standards to advance American innovation and account for the industry’s leadership in accelerating methane technology,” Regan said. “We are finalizing this historic action to reduce climate pollution, protecting people and the planet.”
“An estimated 30% of wells nationwide would be forced to close because it would cost too much”
Oil and gas groups had a mixed reaction to the new rule, which received more than 1 million public comments since it was proposed in 2021.
Aaron Padilla, vice president of corporate policy for the American Petroleum Institute, said the new requirements will stretch the industry. “It’s not easy, and it’s not inexpensive,” he said.
Padilla said he expects the new rule will hurt mom-and-pop operators more than larger energy firms. An API-funded study released in March estimated 30% of wells nationwide would be forced to close because it would cost too much to bring them into compliance. Most of those are older, marginal wells and account for less than 3% of natural gas production and 1.2% of oil production.
The EPA rule will require new wells to cap flares at production facilities that burn waste gas that the industry says isn’t economical to sell. Regan said the rule gives the industry time to purchase pollution-control equipment and allows operators to use aerial screening, gas-sniffing sensor networks and orbiting satellites to locate and fix leaks more quickly.
While Biden puts so many of our American well owners out of business, China will keep pumping as much methane in the air as they like. Meaning none of what Biden is doing here will matter at all when it comes to the climate.