EPA issued a final rule May 6 meant to strengthen, expand and update methane emissions reporting requirements for oil and natural gas systems, as required by the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Oil and natural gas facilities are the largest industrial source of methane, which is a stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide — though shorter lived — and estimated to be responsible for about a third of the increase in global average temperatures. 

The IRA’s Methane Emissions Reduction Program is meant to help states, industry and communities implement recently finalized standards under the Clean Air Act and slash emissions from the oil and gas sector. The Biden administration also is mobilizing $1 billion to accelerate the transition to no- and low-emitting oil and gas technologies as part of a broader effort to cut methane emissions. 

“EPA is applying the latest tools, cutting-edge technology and expertise to track and measure methane emissions from the oil and gas industry,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “Together, a combination of strong standards, good monitoring and reporting, and historic investments to cut methane pollution will ensure the U.S. leads in the global transition to a clean energy economy.” 

EPA said studies have shown that actual emissions from the oil and gas industry are much greater than what they have reported to the agency. The new rule is meant to address that gap by making it easier to use satellite data to identify superemitters and quantify large emission events, and by requiring direct monitoring of key emission sources. 

EPA also is finalizing new methods allowing empirical data for quantifying emissions to be used. The changes are meant to improve transparency and give owners and operators more options to submit empirical data to show their efforts to cut methane emissions. 

The rule covers about 8,000 facilities around the U.S., which have to report their emissions data annually; EPA publishes the results every October. Owners and operators of oil and natural gas systems that emit 25,000 metric tons or more of equivalent carbon dioxide emissions annually are required to report their emissions. 

Aaron Padilla, vice president of corporate policy for the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement that the final rule raises serious concerns, including the use of “flawed methodologies” that could lead to inaccurate reporting of higher GHG emissions. 

“We are reviewing the final rule and will work with Congress and the administration as we continue to reduce GHG emissions while producing the energy the world needs,” he said. 

The Environmental Defense Fund, which launched its own satellite earlier this year to track methane emissions, welcomed the new rules. 

“By directing EPA to update and strengthen methane emissions reporting, Congress recognized the vital importance of measurement-based, accurate and scientifically robust data to establish the true volume of pollution created by the oil and gas industry,” EDF Senior Scientist Daniel Zavala-Araiza said in a statement. “Updated methane reporting, along with continued integration of new measurement data, will allow us to better understand emission sources and mitigation opportunities and track changes in emissions over time.”