Trump to ease methane rules; Canada’s take effect in 2028

U.S. President Donald Trump was set to announce a plan on Oct. 27, 2026, to loosen methane rules for oil and gas producers, a White House official said, according to Reuters.

The change matters because marginal wells, the low-output sites at the centre of the plan, produce about seven per cent of U.S. oil and gas but roughly half of its methane, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates cited by The Hill. The administration projects the changes will save the industry $45 billion.

The official said the EPA would propose rolling back Biden-era rules that required companies to fix leaky equipment and regularly check wells, Reuters reported. The plan would give relief to small, low-output wells, end a program that used outside groups to report large methane leaks and ease rules meant to phase out the routine burning off of gas at oil wells.

Trump was expected to make the announcement at a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, for Senate candidate Ken Paxton, the Washington Examiner reported. Bloomberg first reported the timing and details, and an administration official confirmed the report to The Hill.

The administration says the rollback will produce more energy and lower costs. It projects an extra 210 million barrels of oil and 1.41 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from 2027 to 2050, The Hill reported. When the Biden administration tightened the rules in 2023, it said they would keep 58 million tons of methane out of the atmosphere from 2024 to 2038.

The proposal follows earlier steps. The EPA previewed plans this month to eliminate the Super Emitter Program, which required companies to respond to credible reports of major leaks, and has already halted it, The Hill reported. A proposed rule is not final, and the text of this proposal had not been published when this story was written.

The politics are close to home for Republicans. Reuters said fuel prices are a political liability for the party before the midterm elections, and the Lubbock stop was Trump’s third Texas trip this month. Paxton is in a close race with Democrat James Talarico, who reported a record $64 million Senate fundraising haul for the third quarter. Election day is Nov. 3.

For Canada, the change widens a gap in oil and gas rules between the two countries. Ottawa announced final methane regulations on Dec. 16, 2025, that aim to cut the sector’s methane emissions by 75 per cent by 2035 from 2014 levels, Reuters reported. The rules take effect in 2028, prohibit venting with several exceptions and require inspection schedules to find and repair leaks. The federal government has said oil and gas facilities produce about half of Canada’s methane. We have not seen a response from Ottawa or Canadian producers to the U.S. plan.

Canada and the U.S. are also negotiating on trade. Washington and Ottawa are working on a deal to ease steel and auto tariffs, and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said a trade agreement was very close.

The EPA is expected to publish the proposed rule after the announcement. Trump also has a rally planned in Corpus Christi, Texas, Reuters reported.

Via Reuters, The Hill and the Washington Examiner. Bloomberg first reported the plan.

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