For Oil Drillers, Obama Methane Rule Is Worse Than Proposed
- Alterations add $100 million in costs to rule industry opposed
- Environmentalists applaud changes to rule proposed in August
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The Obama administration, yielding to environmentalists demanding action to address climate change, issued limits on methane emissions from oil and gas wells that are even tougher than those it proposed last year.
The final regulations unveiled Thursday will add an estimated $530 million in additional costs per year by 2025, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s at least 25 percent higher than the preliminary version released in August, and it comes as low oil prices force the industry to pare spending on new exploration.