DOE and EPA announce US$850 million to reduce methane pollution from the oil and gas sector

This investment incentivises companies’ near-term actions to conserve valuable energy resources for American consumers, improve operational efficiencies in a global market, and reduce methane emissions.

“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.”

“Today, we’re building on strong standards and historic progress to cut me-thane pollution and protect communities across the country,” added EPA Administrator, Michael S. Regan. “These investments in the American oil and gas industry will support small businesses and drive the deployment of available and advanced technologies to reduce harmful pollution and tackle the climate crisis, while also helping to position the US as the most efficient producer of oil and natural gas in the world and ensure that the industry remains globally competitive.”

“In order to meet our climate goals, we have to tackle methane pollution in a serious way,” commented John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. “The 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.
• 31 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.
• Five projects will enhance the detection and measurement of methane emissions from oil and gas operations at regional scale.

In total, EPA and DOE are partnering to provide US$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 (NETL), under the purview of DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), will manage the selected projects.

These selections build on the US$350 million in grant funding awarded 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.

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/07012025/doe-and-epa-announce-us850-million-to-reduce-methane-pollution-from-the-oil-and-gas-sector/