Recently announced rollbacks of Obama-era methane controls for the oil and gas industry appear destined for a legal and political onslaught, particularly if Joseph R. Biden Jr. is elected president.

Oil and Gas Methane Emissions

In a two-part rulemaking, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week rescinded the regulations enacted under the 2016 Oil and Natural Gas New Source Performance Standards (NSPS).

The NSPS sought to reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane, as well as smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOC) and toxic air pollutants such as benzene from oil and gas operations.

Environmental groups responded swiftly to the new rules, which remove emissions standards and ease reporting requirements for the production, transmission, storage and processing segments.

“The...