First posted on Instagram
President Donald Trump used a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday night to announce that his administration is terminating Biden-era methane regulations for oil and gas producers, pitching the rollback as a $45 billion saving for consumers and energy producers and a path to 210 million additional barrels of oil.
"Tonight, I'm officially terminating Biden's expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers $45 billion in costs, unlock vast quantities of Texas natural gas and produce 210 million barrels of oil," Trump told the crowd in Lubbock, where he was campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton.
The move comes from the Environmental Protection Agency, which had previewed the same package earlier in October. The EPA proposal would overhaul the Biden-era rules that targeted methane leaks from oil and gas operations: it would rescind the agency's "Super Emitter Program," which required companies to investigate and repair large methane releases flagged by third parties, ease requirements for small, low-producing wells, and relax limits on the routine flaring of gas produced alongside crude oil. The EPA says the proposal is expected to save $45 billion in costs to consumers and businesses, including small operators of marginal wells, and produce an estimated 210 million additional barrels of oil and 1.41 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Trump said the Biden rules had "crushed the small operators" with crippling regulations that caused prices to skyrocket. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin praised the move as ending "the war on oil and natural gas," saying producers should not be weighed down by unnecessary burdens and that Americans must be able to afford to heat their homes and fill up their cars.
The announcement landed a week before the November 3 midterm elections, with fuel prices a central issue for voters. Trump has taken a series of steps to address fuel costs, which have become a political liability for Republicans amid the war with Iran, and Lubbock sits near the Permian Basin, the most productive oil and gas field in the country. It was Trump's third visit to Texas this month to mobilise support for Paxton, who is locked in a close race with Democrat James Talarico; a loss in Texas next Tuesday would complicate the Republican Party's path to retaining its slim Senate majority.
Environmental advocates warn that weaker methane controls could increase emissions and worsen climate-related risks, and note that methane is a potent greenhouse gas and the main component of natural gas. Oil and gas operations are the largest industrial source of methane, which leaks from equipment and is released or burned off as a waste product by drillers. The Biden-era rules the EPA is now revising were designed to cut methane pollution from the sector by 80 percent, and the agency had described the old rules as a "monumental threat" to the economy and an "undue burden" on the industry.
The rollback follows other recent reversals of Biden-era environmental policies, including last month's repeal of the rule limiting carbon emissions from power plants, a move expected to extend the lifespan of coal-fired power plants.