EPA Proposes Oil and Gas Rule Rollback Worth $45 Billion, Easing Burdens on 4 in 5 Wells
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 28
EPA Proposes Oil and Gas Rule Rollback Worth $45 Billion, Easing Burdens on 4 in 5 Wells
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 28
Summary
$45 billion in projected savings anchors the EPA's proposed rewrite of 2024 oil and gas emissions rules, which would carve out new treatment for marginal wells, revise flaring standards and scrap the super-emitter monitoring program.
The agency said the Biden-era rules carried $18 billion in costs and hit marginal operators especially hard; those wells make up about four out of five producing US wells.
EPA estimates the changes could unlock roughly 210 million barrels of oil equivalent and 1.41 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, while offering two alternative systems for classifying well sites.
Lee Zeldin had signaled the rethink in March 2025, and the proposal extends a broader rollback that already included delayed compliance deadlines and revisions to flaring and emissions-reporting rules.
The proposal now enters the rulemaking process, with EPA seeking input from states and operators as the Trump administration pushes a wider shift toward lower-cost domestic oil and gas production.