Follow-Up: EPA Formally Proposes Oil and Gas Rule Revisions in Lubbock, Texas: Super Emitter Program to Be Rescinded, $45 Billion in Estimated Savings
President Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in Lubbock, Texas, on Oct. 27 that the EPA is formally proposing revisions to the Biden administration's oil and gas emissions rules under the Clean Air Act, known as OOOOb/c. The agency estimates the revisions would save consumers and businesses about $45 billion and unlock about 210 million additional barrels of oil and 1.41 trillion cubic feet of natural gas production.
The proposal has five main elements: co-proposing two options for well-site categories with tailored standards for each; rescinding the Super Emitter Program, under which operators must respond when approved third parties report large methane releases detected through remote sensing; splitting the standards for covers and closed vent systems into separate design and operational requirements; restoring a 95% combustion efficiency standard for associated gas; and adding technical flexibility for control devices, covering flame-monitoring data deviations, control-device alerts and visible-emission testing conditions.
Marginal wells are a central focus. The low-producing wells account for roughly four-fifths of the nation's producing oil and gas wells, and the EPA says the current rule does not adequately distinguish small operators from major companies. "This proposal takes on many of the problems American producers and operators have raised with us. That includes the burden on marginal wells and oil and gas operators in general, the Super Emitter Program, associated gas, and control device requirements," Zeldin said. "Americans must be able to afford to heat their homes in the winter and fill up their car and drive to work. They can't do that when the people producing the energy are weighed down by unnecessary burdens."
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Jarrod Agen, executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council, also voiced support for the proposal, saying the revisions would help unleash American energy production and lower production and energy costs.
The proposal will be open to public comment for at least 45 days after publication in the Federal Register, and the EPA will hold a hearing before issuing a final rule. The reconsideration began on March 12, 2025, when the EPA announced it would review the Biden-era oil and gas rules; an interim final rule on July 31, 2025, delayed parts of the requirements, followed by further revisions and clarifications on April 6 and May 1, 2026. Zeldin previewed the proposal in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Oct. 7, saying it would arrive within days; the Lubbock announcement marks its formal rollout.
Related: EPA to Propose Second Part of Oil and Gas Rule Reconsideration, Estimating $45 Billion in Savings
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：得克萨斯州二叠纪盆地的一台抽油机（资料图）。照片：Quintin Soloviev，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。/ Photo: A pumpjack in the Permian Basin, Texas (file photo). Photo by Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-07EPA to Propose Second Part of Oil and Gas Rule Reconsideration, Estimating $45 Billion in Savings
- 2026-10-27Follow-Up: EPA Formally Proposes Oil and Gas Rule Revisions in Lubbock, Texas: Super Emitter Program to Be Rescinded, $45 Billion in Estimated SavingsThis story
- 2026-10-27Follow-Up: EPA Formally Proposes Oil and Gas Rule Revisions in Lubbock, Texas, Estimating $45 Billion in Savings and 210 Million Additional Barrels
