EPA Appears To Back Expanded Drilling Rules For VOCs To Curb Methane

SANTA FE, NM -- EPA appears to be strongly considering expanding its 2012 volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions standards for the oil and gas industry to new sources, such as liquids unloading, to indirectly reduce associated methane emissions, an approach that is worrying environmentalists who are strongly pushing the agency for direct regulation of the potent greenhouse gas (GHG). Observers closely watching EPA's efforts to evaluate five sources of methane from the sector, which the agency outlined in a series...