Barrasso statement on BLM’s Proposed Venting and Flaring Rule
by U.S. Senator John Barrasso
January 22, 2016
WASHINGTON, DC – Today (Friday, Jan. 22, 2016) , U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) released the following statement on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) new proposed rule for methane emissions from oil and gas operations on federal land and Indian land.
"The Bureau of Land Management’s proposed rule is yet another thinly veiled effort to drive oil and natural gas production off federal land.
"If the administration was sincere about generating additional revenue by reducing natural gas flaring on federal land, it would take steps to help producers ship natural gas to market.
"BLM should start tracking the delays in permitting natural gas pipelines on federal land as it does with permits for oil and gas wells. The agency should also use its existing authority to expedite the permitting process for natural gas pipelines on federal land as it has done for renewable energy projects on federal land. More pipelines means less flaring and more revenue.
"Instead of embracing these commonsense solutions, this rule discourages production by raising costs at a time when natural gas sells for bargain basement prices."
Background:
Senator Barrasso is the chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs and the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining.
On Feb. 9, 2015, Senator Barrasso introduced S. 411, the Natural Gas Gathering Enhancement Act. This bipartisan bill would, among other things, expedite the permitting process for natural gas-gathering lines on federal lands and Indian lands.
Natural gas-gathering lines are pipelines that collect unprocessed natural gas from oil and gas wells and ship it to a natural gas processing plant which separates the gases (e.g., methane, ethane, propane) from one another. Once processed, the gases are shipped by intrastate and interstate pipelines to market.
The bill is cosponsored by Senators Heitkamp (D-ND), Enzi (R-WY), and Hoeven (R-ND). Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives on March 25, 2015.
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