US offers $850 million in grants to clean up oil sector methane emissions By Reuters

Written by Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Friday opened competitive bidding that will close Aug. 26 for an $850 million grant to help small oil and gas producers monitor and reduce methane from their operations, a major part of the Biden administration’s plan to end greenhouse gas leaks. powerful.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

The funding, available through legislation signed by climate officials called the Inflation Reduction Act, will specifically help small oil and gas operators reduce methane emissions and gain access to technology to detect and reduce methane. It will be open to industry, academia, NGOs, Native American tribes, and state and local governments.

CONTEXT

Some small, private US oil and gas operators are strongly opposed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s new methane standards targeting hundreds of thousands of existing wells across the country because they would put a financial burden on low-producing wells, as well as the agency’s proposed methane fee. producers.

KEY QUOTE

“This investment from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will drive the deployment of available and advanced technology to better understand where methane emissions come from. That will help us effectively reduce harmful emissions, tackle the climate crisis, and create good-paying jobs.” said EPA Director Michael Regan.

BY NUMBERS

Oil and gas production is the source of nearly one-third of the nation’s methane emissions and is a major target of the Biden administration as it seeks to combat climate change. The United States is among more than 100 countries that have pledged to reduce their methane emissions by 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels. Less productive oil and gas wells make up only 6% of total US production accounting for the portion of methane emitted from all US well sites, the 2022 report found.