Donald Trump revealed at a rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday night that his administration is “terminating” the regulations set by Biden that hold oil and gas companies responsible for significant leaks of methane, which contributes to global warming.
During his campaign rally in Texas, Trump claimed this change would save consumers and energy producers $45 billion and free up 210 million barrels of oil – roughly equal to about 10 days of US petroleum use.
This action is intended to promote more domestic drilling as Trump faces backlash over soaring fuel prices tied to the US conflict in Iran.
While some executives in the oil and gas sector publicly supported the landmark methane rule, industry trade groups and corporations worked behind the scenes to weaken these regulations, according to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by Fieldnotes, an organization monitoring oil and gas activities.
The 2024 methane rule required operators in the oil and gas sector to reduce leaks, flaring, and venting of methane along with volatile organic compounds that are harmful to health.
This was the first instance where federal authorities imposed nationwide standards aimed at curbing methane emissions from existing facilities. An earlier regulation finalized under Obama in 2016 targeted new or modified sources. As part of the super emitter program within this rule, companies were mandated to investigate major leaks near their operations identified by third parties using EPA-approved remote sensing technology.
In March 2025, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin stated that the agency was reassessing the Biden-Harris regulations “to ensure that they do not prevent America from unleashing energy dominance and continuing our trajectory as a leader in clean energy and emissions reductions”.
Last year, the US produced more methane from its oil and gas sector than any other nation globally. Methane is responsible for at least a quarter of current climate warming.
Julia Kane, a researcher at Fieldnotes, remarked that the Trump Environmental Protection Agency was granting oil and gas companies exactly what they desired. “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,” she said.
Documents acquired by Fieldnotes-including calendar entries, presentation slides, and meeting requests-indicate that industry representatives met with EPA officials regarding methane regulations at least 38 times during this administration’s first year.
“I do think it’s just an extraordinary level of access,” Kane noted while adding that industry groups themselves were pleasantly surprised by their opportunities under Trump. For instance, during a conference call last year with industry leaders, Independent Petroleum Association of America executive Lee Fuller described a conversation with EPA staff saying: “It was one of the more fascinating meetings that we’ve ever had just because they were suddenly willing to talk to us. And they were also suddenly willing to talk about things that we’ve been trying to get them to do for years, and they’ve never even let it come on to the radar screen.”
At another Trump rally earlier today in Corpus Christi, he acknowledged Harold Hamm while noting that Continental Resources’ founder was present. In April, Continental Resources sent a letter pushing back against aspects of the methane rule which restrict routine flaring of associated gas.
Since March 2025 when EPA declared it would stop enforcing oil and gas regulations, operators have leaked or flared $7 billion worth of natural gas based on estimates from the Environmental Defense Fund.
Rosalie Winn from Environmental Defense Fund indicated that Trump’s administration aims to limit federal intervention regarding climate pollution across all major emission sectors.
“What this administration is doing is enabling the worst polluters in the industry to continue making ever more money off American consumers while they’re wasting energy,” she said.
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