The United States House of Representatives passed legislation cosponsored by Congressman Jodey Arrington that would roll back the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) overreaching, costly and duplicative venting and flaring rule. The BLM venting and flaring rule would further cap methane emissions from oil and gas sources on federal lands, even though the industry is already subject to Clean Air Act standards through the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and state regulations.
The rule, if not overturned, could cost the economy an estimated $1 billion by 2025.
Congressman Arrington released the following statement in support of the legislation:
“As one of the world’s leading oil producers, the United States has seen natural gas production surge, while methane emissions have declined. There is simply no need for a regulation that ignores this progress and places a costly burden on our economy. The stifling, bureaucratic regulations flowing from Washington are destroying opportunities for responsible energy production in our state and others. This bill is a crucial first step to ensuring our oil and gas producers can continue to provide safe, abundant, and reliable energy.”
Dr. Marshall Watson, Chair of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas Tech University, adds:
“Instead of imposing burdensome regulations like the BLM rule upon upstream operators, federal agencies should encourage the building of greater pipeline infrastructure to gather natural gas as opposed to flaring it.
“Methane leaks around well sites are typically very small. The BLM rule is unnecessary as operators across the Permian Basin have made great strides to minimize flaring and capture tank emissions which are the main source of methane at well sites. There is a great deal of misunderstanding regarding the structure of upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the energy business by inexperienced scientists and engineers, thus leading to broad and redundant rules such as that made by the BLM.”
For more information on the bill, click here.
(News release from the Office of Congressman Jodey Arrington)
