The Department of the Interior (DOI) unveiled a proposed rule on Monday to curb methane pollution from oil and gas operations on federal and tribal lands, in part by imposing royalties on vented or flared natural gas. 

Methane

The rule drafted by DOI’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would require operators to strengthen methane mitigation efforts and would impose monthly limits on royalty-free flaring of natural gas.

Flaring converts methane, the principal component of natural gas, to carbon dioxide (CO2). However, incomplete combustion can cause leakage of methane – a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 – into the atmosphere.

“The Biden-Harris administration has taken unprecedented action to tackle methane emissions and support a clean energy economy – this proposed rule...