Biden Administration to Fine Oil and Gas Companies for Excess Methane
The Biden administration announced new moves on Friday to curb the release from oil and gas facilities of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is responsible for more than a quarter of the warming the planet is currently experiencing.
Under the new plan, oil and gas companies would be required for the first time to pay a fee for emitting methane. The resulting penalties could total millions of dollars for the companies.
Methane is the second-most-abundant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, but is 80 times as powerful in the short run in terms of heating the atmosphere.
The proposed fees come as American gas and oil production have reached record levels.
Methane wafts into the atmosphere from pipelines, drill sites and storage facilities. Some producers burn excess gas at the production site, a process known as flaring, which releases carbon dioxide and also, sometimes, methane.