US Environmental Protection Agency and US Department of Energy Announce $850M to Reduce Methane Pollution from the Oil and Gas Sector
Funding from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda Builds on More Than 100 Cross-Government Actions That Are Sharply Reducing Methane Pollution in Support of Clean Air, Good Jobs, and Climate Action
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy today announced approximately $850 million for 43 projects selected for negotiation that will help small oil and gas operators, Tribes, and other entities across the country to reduce, monitor, measure, and quantify methane emissions from the oil and gas sector as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The funding builds on unprecedented action across the Biden-Harris Administration to dramatically reduce methane emissions, with agencies taking more than 100 actions since 2023, including the finalization of an EPA rule that is expected to reduce methane emissions from covered oil and gas sources by 80% from 2024 to 2038 compared to projected emissions without the rule.
Today’s investment incentivizes companies’ near-term actions to conserve valuable energy resources for American consumers, improve operational efficiencies in a global market, and reduce methane emissions.
“Today, we’re continuing to build on strong standards and historic progress to cut methane pollution and protect communities across the country,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Together, these investments will support small businesses and drive the deployment of available and advanced technologies to reduce harmful pollution and tackle the climate crisis, while creating good-paying jobs.”
“The public health of our nation depends greatly on our ability to drastically reduce harmful pollution from America’s largest source of industrial methane – the oil and gas sector,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “This historic investment made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act is helping energy communities and deliver long-lasting health and environmental benefits across the country. At the same time, it will support small operators’ ability to replace and upgrade old equipment, reducing emissions from marginal conventional wells, improving their supply chains to meet the growing market expectations for cleaner fuel sources.”
“In order to meet our climate goals, we have to tackle methane pollution in a serious way,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. “Today’s awards will slash local pollution from Colorado to Kentucky while delivering for our workers, our communities, and our planet.”
The selected projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history, represent a significant step in addressing climate change and improving air quality. By mitigating legacy air pollution and supporting small oil and natural gas operators, the projects will help reduce methane emissions through available and innovative technologies. Additionally, they will create partnerships to enhance emissions measurement and provide transparent data to affected communities. One Tribal consortium, 11 universities, and 20 private companies were selected for projects across the Nation to deploy and test new and existing methane mitigation technologies:
Three projects will help small operators across the country significantly reduce methane emissions from low-producing oil and natural gas operations, using commercially available technology solutions.
Thirty-one projects will accelerate the deployment of early-commercial technology solutions to reduce methane emissions from new and existing equipment.
Four projects will improve communities’ access to empirical emissions data and participation in monitoring methane emissions.
Five projects will enhance the detection and measurement of methane emissions from oil and gas operations at a regional scale.
In total, EPA and DOE are partnering to provide $1.36 billion in financial and technical assistance as part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Methane Emissions Reduction Program. DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, under the purview of DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, will manage the selected projects. Learn more about the selected projects.
Today’s selections build on the $350 million in grant funding to states that EPA and DOE announced in December 2023 to support industry efforts to voluntarily reduce emissions at low-producing wells, monitor emissions, and conduct environmental restoration at well pads. Together, these investments are a key step in implementing the Methane Emissions Reduction Program.
The selected projects support the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to reduce harmful methane emissions across economic sectors. These efforts are accelerating reductions in methane emissions, supporting clean air and public health, creating good jobs, and advancing President Biden’s ambitious climate goals.
About the Methane Emissions Reduction Program
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to approximately one-third of the global warming we are experiencing today. Over 100 years, one ton of emitted methane traps 28 times as much heat in the Earth’s atmosphere as one ton of emitted carbon dioxide. The oil and natural gas sector is the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States. A rapid reduction in methane emissions is one of the most important and cost-effective actions the United States can take in the short term to slow the rate of rapidly rising global temperatures.
The Methane Emissions Reduction Program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act, directed EPA to take action to tackle wasteful methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The financial and technical assistance, implemented through a partnership between EPA and DOE, work in concert both with the recently finalized Waste Emissions Charge and with Clean Air Act standards issued in March 2024 to limit methane emissions from new and existing oil and gas operations. The Methane Emissions Reduction Program also advances the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, and other investments benefit disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
Combined, these actions will help position the United States as the most efficient producer of oil and natural gas in the world and ensure that the industry remains competitive in overseas markets that require a minimum level of emissions performance. Together, DOE and EPA’s methane actions will advance the adoption of cost-effective technologies, reduce wasteful practices, and yield significant economic, health, and environmental benefits, while driving continued innovation in methane detection, monitoring, and mitigation techniques.
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