Trump moves to roll back US methane rules for oil and gas

US President Donald Trump has announced plans to significantly ease methane-emissions restrictions on oil and gas producers in the United States. He made the announcement at a rally in Lubbock, Texas, saying the move would end what he described as Biden-era regulations that were costly and unnecessary. Trump said the rollback would save consumers and energy producers $45 billion.

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The regulations targeted by the plan were introduced under former President Joe Biden's administration. Trump told the crowd that the change would "unlock vast quantities of Texas natural gas," linking the policy shift directly to the state's energy sector. Texas is the largest fossil fuel-producing state in the US, making the announcement especially significant for producers there.

The Environmental Protection Agency had earlier estimated savings of $45 billion, although it did not provide a detailed breakdown of that figure. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin backed the move, saying Americans need to be able to afford to heat their homes and drive to work. He argued that energy producers should not be weighed down by unnecessary burdens.

The comments suggest the administration is framing the rollback as both an economic and consumer-relief measure. The policy would affect methane rules that were designed to limit emissions of a potent greenhouse gas from oil and gas operations. The decision matters because methane is the main component of natural gas and is the second-largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide.

It is responsible for roughly a third of the rise in global temperatures since pre-industrial times, according to the information cited in the announcement. Although methane remains in the atmosphere for only seven to 12 years, it traps significantly more heat than carbon dioxide while it is present. That makes methane regulation a central issue in climate policy as well as in energy production.

The United States is the world's largest source of methane emissions from oil and gas production, according to the International Energy Agency, ahead of Russia. That gives any change in US rules wider significance for global emissions efforts and for the oil and gas industry. The announcement also places the administration in direct contrast with the previous White House approach, which had sought tighter controls on emissions from fossil fuel production.

For producers, the rollback could reduce compliance costs; for climate advocates, it could weaken one of the main federal tools for cutting methane leaks. What remains unclear is how quickly the administration will move to formally change the rules and what legal or regulatory steps will follow. The EPA has signalled support for the policy direction, but the detailed implementation has not yet been set out.

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