US President Donald Trump.
The agency estimates the changes could also unlock 1.41 trillion cubic feet of additional natural gas. He urged the agency to withdraw the proposal and implement the 2024 rule. The organisation has estimated that oil and gas operators leaked, vented or flared about $7 billion worth of natural gas after the EPA announced in March 2025 that it would stop enforcing the regulations.
His administration has been rolling back climate policies introduced under former President Joe Biden.
Speaking at a rally in Lubbock, Texas, Trump said the rollback of what he called “expensive and unnecessary” regulations would save $45 billion and unlock an additional 210 million barrels of oil, equivalent to around 10 days of US petroleum consumption. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Administrator Lee Zeldin, said the proposed revisions would ease restrictions on the oil and natural gas industry. Darin Schroeder, methane legal and regulatory director at the Clean Air Task Force, said the EPA’s proposal violated the Clean Air Act’s responsibility to protect public health and welfare. Environmental Defense Fund president Fred Krupp said the rollback gave polluting companies a “free pass” at the expense of consumers.
The move comes as Trump faces criticism over high fuel prices amid the war in Iran and seeks to encourage domestic oil and gas production. One key provision was the EPA’s Super Emitter Program, which required companies to investigate major methane leaks detected by third parties using approved remote-sensing technology. The Trump administration has proposed eliminating the programme and easing standards for smaller oil and gas wells.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that his administration was terminating a Biden-era regulation aimed at curbing methane emissions from oil and gas operations, arguing that the move would reduce costs for energy producers and consumers while boosting domestic oil production.