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US, Canada set to target oil and gas wells to reduce methane emissions

April 21st, 2016 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

US, Canada set to target oil and gas wells to reduce methane emissions

The White House recently announced the first concentrated effort on the federal level to regulate emissions from oil and natural gas wells across the country. The initiative will stretch across two countries, as Canada will take a similar approach to oil and gas well regulation. The announcement came after the first official state visit from new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the White House. A joint statement from the two leaders includes initiatives to protect Arctic territory, cooperate on clean energy ventures, advance climate action on the domestic and global scales.

The impact on the oil and natural gas industry
The specific language in the joint statement notes that Obama and Trudeau committed to reducing current methane emission levels below the numbers seen in 2012, a decrease of between 40 and 45 percent. The two countries set a goal of 2025 for the drop, which specifically targets organizations in the oil and gas industry. Additionally, the two countries will seek out additional opportunities outside of that market to further reduce methane production.

Specific goals related to the effort include the Environmental Protection Agency committing to quickly develop regulations for methane emissions from oil and gas wells. Speed seems to be a major factor, as the announcement said the EPA will begin a program in April 2016 that requires companies operating gas and oil wells to provide data that will aid in developing comprehensive reduction standards. Canada's environmental regulatory authority will develop a similar plan in the months ahead as well. The two nations will also endorse the World Bank's Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative and work to meet its goal.

The rest of the language in the statement's section about methane impacts is less specific. While not providing much in the way of defined goals, actions or timeframes, it's clear to see that increased information sharing and collaboration between the two countries is a major point of emphasis. Improvements to reporting and related transparency concerns were also noted.

Outside of specific environmental regulations for and announcements related to the oil and natural gas industry, the two countries also agreed more generally to protect the Arctic territory that each controls. Some of the major elements related to the plan include science-based decision-making to improve biodiversity in the region and incorporating the viewpoints and positions of the indigenous peoples in the area.

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