Regulator’s New Focus on Emissions Rankles Offshore Energy

The Minerals Management Service is exploring whether to increase the scope of its regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas industry, a move that has producers worried their actions could be linked to global warming.

A proposed rule would direct offshore producers to track the flaring and venting of natural gas, which is a byproduct of crude production, as opposed to the rough estimates required now. Flaring involves the burning of methane gas, which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. With venting, methane is released directly.


MMS, an arm of the Interior Department that has oversight of hydrocarbon exploration and production in federal waters, has long limited both flaring and venting, though the focus has been on avoiding the waste of natural gas, given the growing gap between U.S. gas production and demand. But over the last two years, the agency has turned its focus to the environmental effects of the release of greenhouse gases, which scientists say cause global warming.

“It’s a new approach for us,” said Elmer Danenberger, chief of offshore regulatory programs for MMS.

Dow Jones Newswires