President Donald Trump on Tuesday at a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, announced a rollback of federal rules issued by the Biden administration in 2023 that forced oil and gas companies to cut emissions of methane, a "super pollutant" gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
"Tonight, I'm officially terminating Biden's expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers," Trump said, lifting what he called "crippling regulations on methane that caused prices to skyrocket" for small oil and gas operators.
In a press release, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin praised Trump's move "to end the war on oil and natural gas" by revising oil and natural gas regulations under the Clean Air Act.
According to the EPA, the proposal is expected to save $45bn in costs to consumers and businesses, including small businesses operating marginal wells, and produce an estimated 210m additional barrels of oil and 1.41tn cubic feet of natural gas.
The decision may draw criticism from environmental groups, as methane is a potent greenhouse gas far more powerful than carbon dioxide. However, the administration frames the move as strengthening energy independence and lowering prices.