US Loosens Methane Rules for the Oil and Gas Industry: What It Means for Climate Goals
The United States government announced a major rollback of rules that limit methane emissions from oil and gas producers. These rules were adopted in 2024 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA's proposal, previewed earlier in October 2026, would end the "Super Emitter Program". Under it, EPA-approved outside observers could report big leaks of 100 kg of methane per hour or more to companies.
It would also weaken rules for "marginal wells" (small wells producing 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day or less) and relax limits on routine flaring of the gas that comes up with oil.
The EPA says the changes will save consumers and businesses about USD 45 billion. The step comes amid high fuel prices in the US, linked to the conflict with Iran, and ahead of the 3 November 2026 midterm elections.
Environmental groups and researchers criticised the changes, saying companies would keep leaking and flaring methane with little oversight.
The US is the world's largest emitter of methane from oil and gas operations, followed by Russia, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Global Warming Potential (GWP): Comparing the Warming Power of Gases
Global Warming Potential (GWP) is a number that tells us how much heat a gas traps compared with carbon dioxide (CO₂), over a fixed period. CO₂ is the measuring stick, so its GWP is 1. A gas with a GWP of 30 traps 30 times as much heat as the same weight of CO₂ over that period. GWP lets countries add up different gases into one figure, called CO₂-equivalent (CO₂e).
Leak checks, the Super Emitter Program and flaring limits were all designed to stop methane escaping from US oil and gas sites. Because methane's short-term warming power is so high, even small leaks add a lot of CO₂-equivalent emissions. Loosening these rules could therefore have a large near-term climate effect.
Global Methane Pledge (2021)
The Global Methane Pledge is a voluntary promise by a group of countries to cut the world's human-caused methane emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. It was launched by the United States and the European Union at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. It is a collective target, not a separate legal target for each country. Countries choose their own ways to cut methane, mainly in oil and gas, farming and waste.
The US co-led the Global Methane Pledge, and its 2024 oil and gas rules were among its main tools to meet it. Rolling these rules back makes the 30% global target harder to reach, because the US oil and gas sector is the world's largest single source of such methane.
Gas Flaring: Definition and Process
Gas flaring is the burning of natural gas in an open flame at oil wells, oil fields and processing plants, instead of using or selling it. When oil is pumped out of the ground, natural gas often comes up with it. This is called associated gas. If there is no pipeline or market for this gas, companies often burn it off in a tall chimney called a flare stack. You may have seen these flames at night near oil fields: each one is valuable fuel being burnt for nothing.
The US rollback relaxes limits on routine flaring of associated gas, especially in basins like the Permian, where capturing the gas often costs more than it earns. Combined with weaker leak checks, this means more methane and CO₂ from US oil fields. It also runs against the Zero Routine Flaring goal, as the US is already one of the world's top flaring countries.
- US EPA proposes to end the Super Emitter Program (third-party reports of leaks of 100 kg/hour or more)
- Rules for marginal wells (15 barrels of oil equivalent per day or less) to be weakened
- Routine flaring limits for associated gas to be relaxed
- EPA's claimed saving: about USD 45 billion
- The rules being rolled back were adopted by the EPA in 2024
- US: world's largest methane emitter from oil and gas operations (IEA), followed by Russia
- Methane: second-largest driver of global warming after CO₂; about 0.5°C of warming so far; lasts about 7–12 years in the air
- Global Methane Pledge (COP26, 2021): cut global methane at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030; India not a member