Mar 10, 2016 White House Methane Rules Targeting Vulnerable Independent Producers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) Executive Vice President Lee Fuller released the following statement on the Obama Administration’s plans to add costly and unnecessary new mandates on independent oil and natural gas producers:
“This new, aggressive proposal threatens about 20 percent of America’s oil production and 13 percent of its natural gas production from America’s smallest oil and natural gas wells. These ‘marginal wells’ are already barely economic, producing small volumes a day. Added costs can shut down these wells. And the result is lost jobs, higher fuel prices, less clean-burning natural gas and more reliance on foreign oil.
“There is no concrete data that justifies the risks of shutting down significant amounts of American oil and natural gas production.
“Every day, America’s oil and natural gas producers are working hard to develop America’s own abundant resources in a safe and environmentally sound manner. The federal government’s own data confirms methane emissions have fallen in recent years and are continuing to drop, even as oil and natural gas production has risen. As technology has improved, the industry’s processes have become more efficient. This proposal is designed to go after marginal wells and exceeds the administration’s own voluntarily set climate targets, making this new federal mandate unnecessary from the start.
“Methane emissions from oil and natural gas production-related activities only account for a little over one percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Responsible energy development has and will continue to play a leading role in making the United States the world leader in greenhouse gas reductions.
“It’s clear this administration is kowtowing to environmental extremists whose only wish is to keep our nation’s affordable and abundant energy supplies away from those who need it the most by keeping it in the ground. With so many benefits from producing U.S. energy, a smarter national energy policy would encourage American oil and natural gas production, not penalize it.”
IPAA addressed the costly impacts of targeting small producers by regulating existing sources in its December 2015 comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. IPAA President and CEO Barry Russell explained in an op-ed in The Hill that reducing methane emissions has long been an industry priority, which has often gone unrecognized.
About the Independent Petroleum Association of America
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) is a national upstream trade association representing thousands of independent oil and natural gas producers and service companies across the United States. Independent producers develop 90 percent of the nation’s oil and natural gas wells. These companies account for 54 percent of America’s oil production, 85 percent of its natural gas production, and support over 2.1 million American jobs. Learn more about IPAA by visiting www.ipaa.org and following @IPAAaccess on Twitter.
