Technical Assistance from the Methane Emissions Reduction Program

• Overview
• Methane Measurement Guidelines for Marginal Conventional Wells
• Technical Resources Related to MERP

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Overview

The Inflation Reduction Act provides new authorities under the Clean Air Act to provide financial and technical assistance to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector through the Methane Emissions Reduction Program. As part of this program, EPA is partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to leverage the agencies' shared commitment and joint expertise in advancing methane mitigation technologies for the oil and gas sector and provide technical assistance through an interagency agreement to improve methane emissions monitoring, detection, measurement, and quantification.

Financial and technical assistance opportunities under the Methane Emissions Reduction Program will support a number of activities, including preparing and submitting greenhouse gas reports, monitoring methane emissions, and reducing methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from petroleum and natural gas systems by improving and deploying equipment to reduce emissions, supporting innovation, and permanently shutting in and plugging wells. This assistance will also help mitigate health effects in low-income and disadvantaged communities, improve climate resiliency, and support environmental restoration. In addition, this assistance will also support activities at low-producing (marginal) conventional wells.

EPA and DOE are also providing technical assistance to financial assistance recipients to help oil and natural gas operators implement cost-effective solutions to reduce methane emissions and transition to available and innovative methane emissions reduction technologies.

These financial and technical assistance opportunities complement other efforts to monitor and reduce emissions from the U.S. oil and gas sector. Through the Methane Emissions Reduction Program, EPA is implementing a Waste Emissions Charge for methane and revised Subpart W of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program regulations for the oil and gas sector.

Methane Measurement Guidelines for Marginal Conventional Wells

One of the primary sources of methane emissions from oil and gas operators are marginal conventional wells (MCWs), which produce no more than 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Research has shown that MCWs can account for disproportionately high methane emissions relative to production volumes.

On June 14, 2024, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)released a detailed report (pdf) (1.3 MB) that presents guidelines for measuring methane emissions from MCWs. The guidelines were developed to assist the 14 states that received MERP formula grants. The guidelines describe procedures for the grant recipients to adequately measure and monitor methane emissions prior to and following the voluntary plugging of MCWs.

The guidelines describe procedures for the grant recipients to adequately measure and monitor methane emissions prior to and following the voluntary plugging of marginal conventional wells. Marginal conventional wells are ones that produce less than 15 barrels of oil and/or less than 90,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day. The guidelines provide information and direction on methane measurement approaches and technologies to help improve the effectiveness and accuracy of methane emissions measurements from marginal conventional wells.

Technical Resources Related to MERP

Visit the Oil and Gas Methane Hub landing page to learn about methane emissions from the oil and gas sector and easily access cross-cutting EPA resources and information related to oil and gas.

EPA collaborates with oil and natural gas operators and industry stakeholders to encourage the identification and implementation of technologies and practices to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. Through the Natural Gas STAR Program, EPA facilitates technology transfer and implementation workshops and webinars, shares technical resources, and collaborates with oil and gas operators.

One of the primary resources maintained by the Natural Gas STAR Program is the Methane Mitigation Technologies Platform, which provides technical information about mitigation options available to different emissions sources and industry segments. The Natural Gas STAR Program also maintains information about MCWs as well as mitigation options for this emission source.

The Natural Gas STAR Oil and Gas Equipment and Service Providers Directory provides information about service and technology providers to help operators in the oil and natural gas industry reduce methane emissions through access to advanced methane monitoring and reduction technologies.

EPA also maintains a history of technical presentations from Natural Gas STAR available through PDFs and video recordings, many of which are about topics relevant to methane mitigation technologies and approaches.