Politics · United States · 52 mins ago
Trump proposes loosening methane rules for oil and gas production
President Trump announced plans to loosen methane rules for oil and gas production.
He made the announcement at a rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday night.
The proposal concerns regulations on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.
The announcement came during Trump’s second campaign stop of the day in Texas.
The rally was intended to help Republican Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign; Paxton is Texas’s attorney general.
The sources do not give details of the proposed changes or what happens next.
President Donald Trump announced plans to loosen federal rules on methane emissions from oil and gas production at a rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday.
Trump said the change would save consumers and energy producers $45 billion, while the Environmental Protection Agency forecast the same amount in savings.
The proposed changes include ending the Super Emitter Program and easing rules for lower-producing wells and routine flaring.
Environmental and health groups say the rollback could increase methane and other air pollution.
The Biden-era rules, finalized in 2024, required oil and gas operators to limit leaks, flaring and venting.
- Who
- President Donald Trump announced the planned changes; they affect oil and gas producers.
- What
- The administration plans to loosen Biden-era methane regulations. The changes include ending the Super Emitter Program.
- When
- Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026.
- Where
- At a rally in Lubbock, Texas.
- Why
- Trump said the changes would save consumers and energy producers money and ease burdens on producers. The move comes amid concern about high fuel costs ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump administration and supporters
Environmental and health groups
Costs and energy production
Trump administration and supporters
The administration says loosening the rules will reduce costs and burdens on producers and support energy production.
Environmental and health groups
Critics say the changes could increase pollution and weaken protections.
Methane leaks
Trump administration and supporters
The administration says the existing rules impose unnecessary burdens on energy producers.
Environmental and health groups
Critics say methane leaks harm the climate, and associated pollutants can harm people living near oil and gas sites.
Low-producing wells
Trump administration and supporters
The National Stripper Well Association says compliance costs could make some wells uneconomical to operate.
Environmental and health groups
Researchers cited by NBC News say low-producing wells account for about 7% to 8% of US natural gas but could account for about 50% of methane leaks.
The Obama administration finalized an earlier methane rule covering new and modified oil and gas sources.
The Biden administration finalized rules requiring oil and gas operators to limit methane leaks, flaring and venting.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency was reconsidering the Biden-Harris regulations.
Trump announced plans to loosen the methane rules at a rally in Lubbock, Texas.
- Announced by
- President Donald Trump
- Announcement date
- Oct. 27, 2026
- Announcement location
- Lubbock, Texas
- Trump’s stated savings
- US$45 billion
- Proposed additional production
- 210 million barrels of oil and 1.41 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the EPA
- Super Emitter Program
- The EPA plans to eliminate it
5 sources
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Trump drastically loosens oil and gas methane rules
Trump says he’ll roll back Biden-era methane rules for oil and gas companies
Trump says government to ‘terminate’ Biden-era methane emissions rules
Trump announces proposal to loosen methane rules for oil and gas production
What people are saying
Tonight, I’m officially terminating Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers US$45 billion (S$57.66 billion),
Americans must be able to afford to heat their homes in the winter and fill up their car and drive to work. They can’t do that when the people producing the energy are weighed down by unnecessary burdens.
Lee Zeldin’s EPA is giving oil and gas corporations exactly what they’ve long wanted: a toothless methane standard they can use to pretend they’re well-regulated, all while they continue to knowingly leak and flare dangerous amounts of the heat-trapping gas.
The pollution that’s released alongside methane carries immediate health harms, particularly for communities living near oil and gas sites,