President Trump announced at a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday night that his administration is "terminating" a 2024 rule requiring oil and gas companies to curb leaks of methane, the potent greenhouse gas, framing the move as a way to cut fuel costs amid criticism over high prices tied to the war in Iran.
"Tonight, I'm officially terminating Biden's expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers," Trump told the crowd, saying the change would save $45 billion and unlock 210 million additional barrels of oil — roughly 10 days of US petroleum consumption. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin, in a press release framing the move as ending "the war on oil and natural gas," said the agency's revision of Clean Air Act rules would also free up 1.41 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
A rule finalized, then unwound
The 2024 methane rule was the first nationwide requirement forcing existing oil and gas facilities, not just new ones, to find and fix leaking, flaring and venting equipment. Its "super emitter" program let third parties use EPA-approved satellite and aerial sensors to flag major leaks for investigation. The EPA under Zeldin began reconsidering the rule in March 2025, arguing it stood in the way of American "energy dominance."
Records obtained via public-records requests by the watchdog group Fieldnotes, and cited in Guardian reporting on the rollback, show industry representatives met with EPA staff on the rule at least 38 times during the administration's first year. "The oil and gas industry says it's a 'good-faith' partner eager to help craft regulations, but time and time again it's worked behind the scenes to delay and weaken them," said Julia Kane, a researcher at Fieldnotes, who called the level of access "extraordinary."
Billions in gas already lost, group says
The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that oil and gas operators have already leaked, vented or flared roughly $7 billion worth of natural gas since the EPA stopped enforcing the rule in March 2025. "What this administration is doing is enabling the worst polluters in the industry to continue to make ever more money off the back of American consumers while they're wasting energy," said Rosalie Winn, a senior director and lead counsel at the group.
Methane is responsible for roughly a quarter of current global warming, and the US emitted more of it from its oil and gas sector last year than any other country, according to the Guardian's reporting. The administration argues the regulatory burden was unfairly weighing on small operators running marginal wells, a point Trump underscored at the Texas rally by singling out Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm, whose company had lobbied the EPA against the rule's flaring restrictions.
The rollback is expected to face legal challenges from environmental groups, who argue the EPA did not adequately justify abandoning emissions limits that took years to finalize under the prior administration.
