Climate Change Legal Roadmap

The upstream oil and gas industry will be covered by the proposed Regulations Respecting Reduction in the Release of Methane and Certain Volatile Organic Compounds (Upstream Oil and Gas Sector). [...] The upstream oil and gas industry will be covered by the proposed Regulations Respecting Reduction in the Release of Methane and Certain Volatile Organic Compounds (Upstream Oil and Gas Sector).28 The proposed Regulations Respecting Reduction in the Release of Volatile Organic Compounds (Petroleum Sector)29 will apply to the petroleum and petrochemical sector. [...] Generally, the record keeping and reporting obligations that accompany each of the regulatory requirements come into force at the same time.46 Concurrently with both regulations (the upstream oil and gas sector and the petroleum sector), the Regulations Designating Regulatory Provisions for the Purposes of Enforcement (Canadian Environmental Protection Act) will be amended to include provisions fr [...] Although both EPA regulations and BLM standards for methane are now in place, with the inauguration of President Trump and the accompanying political shift in early 2017, the status of the methane reduction strategy (and GHG reduction in general) is unclear.48 In 2012, the EPA implemented New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) to address the release of volatile organic compounds in the oil and ga [...] The rule focuses on several processes in the course of oil and gas production: • venting and flaring of associated gas from development oil wells; • gas leaks from equipment at the well site or elsewhere on the lease; • operation of high-bleed pneumatic controllers and certain pneumatic pumps; • gas emissions from storage vessels; • downhole well maintenance and liquids unloading; and • well drill