NewsWest 9

Video Coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAiNSjIhLvM

One day after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, the future of oil and gas remains in the air for some operators.

In 2023, former President Joe Biden announced a final rule for oil and gas companies to pay a federal tax fee if they emit methane above certain levels.

It's all due to the Inflation Reduction Act, where the Environmental Protection Agency implements that law.

"The privately held companies have been getting pressure from those in favor of ESG metrics, environmental stewardship and governance metrics to try to improve environmental impact and standards out in the field," said Stephen Robertson, executive vice president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. "So a lot of those companies have been working for a good while to try to reduce their emissions, not necessarily because it is impactful to greater production, but because it is it looks better to stakeholders and investors."

Robertson said methane is a valuable product and the industry would prefer it captured and sent to market as opposed to being flared.

"Because of that, companies then are more reliant on stakeholders from outside their companies, those publicly trade companies, have been focusing on this issue for a while," Robertson said. "And so they've already been making the investments to try to improve their operations."

Now, there's a concern if the tax stays in place. Wells that are subject to the rule could be shut in, which would lower production. Not only does that affect operators, but also the economy, service companies and local taxing entities.

During the week of Jan. 13, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden Administration in an effort to prevent the rule from taking effect.

"Should we be supporting these companies and trying to help them do the best most responsible operations they came out in the field? I would say that's what we should be working towards, and I don't think the waste emissions charge gets there," said Robertson.

Robertson stated even if Paxton is successful, it's still going to take time to undo the rules once they're already in place.

"So they are betting by the time it really does get overturned if it does get overturned by court, they're going to have accomplished what they wanted to accomplish anyway and they're going to change it an operation or a culture or whatever it might be and whatever industry they're regulating," Robertson said. "So ultimately, they still win."

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