The U.S. Department of the Interior announced new Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations to reduce oil and gas waste on public and tribal lands.
The regulations aim to hold oil and gas companies accountable by requiring them to prevent waste and address spills.
BLM's final rule aims to save billions of cubic feet of gas that would otherwise be vented, flared or leaked from oil and gas operations.
It is also expected to result in additional natural gas royalty payments of more than $50 million annually to federal taxpayers and tribal mineral owners.
According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, from 2010 to 2020, average annual venting and flaring by the federal government and Indian land lessees was approximately 44.2 billion cubic feet.
The move is in response to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report that identified revenue losses due to outdated BLM regulations.
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States such as Colorado, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have already adopted measures to control vents, flares, and leaks in oil and gas operations.
BLM rules are different from EPA's, but they ensure that operators can meet these new requirements while complying with state, tribal, or federal regulations.
“By leveraging modern technology and best practices to reduce natural gas waste, we will strengthen the accountability of oil and gas operators and protect them now and for generations to come,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “We are taking long-overdue steps that will benefit the energy community.” ”
The American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade group representing the oil and gas industry, has expressed concern about the new BLM rules, suggesting they may be overreaching.
“We are reviewing the final rule to ensure it remains within BLM's legal authority to regulate natural gas waste and prevents regulatory overreach,” said Holly Hopkins, API vice president of upstream policy. We will consider all options.”
Earlier this week, API, along with 19 other organizations, called on the EPA to reconsider its “misguided” methane fee for the U.S. energy sector.
