On July 24, federal agencies EPA, DOE and DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), released a notice of intent announcing the first in a series of funding opportunities to monitor and reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector and for environmental restoration of well sites.
Through the new Interagency Agreement, EPA and DOE will also partner to offer technical assistance to help companies monitor and reduce methane emissions from leaks and daily operations.
“Methane’s potency as a greenhouse gas makes targeted emissions reduction efforts essential to slow the rapid rate of climate change,” said Brad Crabtree, Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, in a statement. “These programs will help states and industry to accelerate methane monitoring and mitigation efforts, which will increase efficiency and reduce costs for oil and gas producers while providing long-lasting climate and health benefits to communities across the nation.”
EPA and DOE will provide up to $350 million in formula funding to eligible states to assist industry to voluntarily identify and permanently reduce methane emissions from low-producing (marginal) conventional wells. These investments are expected to improve the economic competitiveness of small and medium-sized producers while reducing associated harmful air pollution, mitigating health effects in nearby communities, and creating jobs in energy communities.
States also will be able to use a portion of their award for environmental restoration and to invest in their monitoring capacity for low-producing conventional wells, which will improve their ability to identify sources of methane emissions and to effectively prioritize their mitigation. NETL plans to issue the funding opportunity announcement later this summer.
These funding opportunities are made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act which created the Methane Emissions Reduction Program. It provides $1.55 billion in funding, including financial and technical assistance to improve methane monitoring and reduce methane and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the oil and gas sector with the co-benefit of reducing non-GHG emissions such as volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants.
The program allows financial and technical assistance for a number of activities, including preparing and submitting greenhouse gas reports, monitoring methane emissions, and reducing methane and other greenhouse gas emissions by improving and deploying equipment, supporting innovation, permanently reducing wasteful methane emissions from low-producing conventional wells, mitigating health effects in low-income and disadvantaged communities, improving climate resiliency, supporting environmental restoration, and mitigating legacy air pollution.
In addition to funding opportunities, through this collaboration, EPA and DOE will provide technical assistance to help states, industry, and other partners implement cost-effective solutions that reduce methane leak emissions. The agencies will support small and medium-sized producers that often lack the capital and expertise of the larger oil and gas companies and will work with partners to implement and prioritize best practices and mitigation decision-support tools across the broader oil and gas sector. This technical assistance will also ensure efforts are fully aligned with the needs of local communities and help inform key decision-makers of mitigation opportunities across states, industry, and other partners.
