The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to weaken requirements for leak inspections and equipment upgrades at more than 700,000 low-producing "stripper wells." The current EPA proposal aims to eliminate the EPA program that tracks "super-emitter" events.

The draft rule is being reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget. The proposal is expected to save companies $42 billion through 2050.

Stripper wells are defined in the proposal as those that produce up to 15 barrels of oil or equivalent natural gas per day. These wells produce 6% of the country’s oil and natural gas but are responsible for roughly half of the oil and gas sector’s methane pollution.

The EPA stated that the cost of complying with existing regulations would force the lowest-producing wells to shut down. An industry estimate cited in the proposed rule states that shutting down the lowest-producing wells would eliminate 0.4% of U.S. oil and gas production.

An attached memo states the rollback will help to "unleash" American energy. The EPA is deregulating stripper wells in response to petitions from the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the National Stripper Well Association.

Jeffery Hildebrand is the founder and owner of Hilcorp. Hilcorp buys old, poorly maintained stripper wells. Jeffery Hildebrand became one of the oil industry’s biggest donors to Donald Trump’s campaign.

President Donald Trump appointed Aaron Szabo, a former Hilcorp lobbyist, to a top post at the EPA. Aaron Szabo is in charge of the effort to unravel new methane rules at the EPA.

Aaron Szabo previously helped to draft a letter on behalf of the American Exploration and Production Council opposing methane rules. Hilcorp’s CEO serves on the board of the American Exploration and Production Council.

Aaron Szabo gave advice on climate regulations for Project 2025. Project 2025 recommends eliminating an EPA program that tracks "super-emitter" events and obliges companies to respond to them. The American Exploration and Production Council and the Independent Petroleum Association of America have called for an end to the EPA "super-emitter" tracking program.

An Independent Petroleum Association of America spokesperson stated in an emailed statement that its lobbying "has focused on ensuring regulations are workable for low-production and marginal wells." National Stripper Well Association representatives previously stated they asked the EPA to soften restrictions on stripper wells because many members could not afford compliance costs. The EPA press office stated that Aaron Szabo "had not done any work for AXPC for well over a year before he started working for the federal government." The EPA press office stated that Aaron Szabo reviewed federal ethics rules with the agency’s ethics staff upon joining.

The Biden administration imposed restrictions on methane pollution in 2024. The rules being rolled back were a component of former President Joe Biden’s climate agenda. The EPA stated at the time that the previous rules would have cut methane pollution from the oil industry by 80%.

Methane breaks down in about a dozen years. Methane accounts for one-third of the rise in temperatures since the Industrial Revolution, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Biden’s EPA valued the previous rules’ climate, health and energy benefits at more than $7 billion a year.

Trump’s EPA did not include calculations of the environmental and health impacts of the new proposal. Darin Schroeder of the Clean Air Task Force said the proposal is not about energy dominance but about padding the pockets of oil and gas operators and saddling society with the costs.

Why It Matters

The proposal represents a shift from the regulatory framework established in 2024, which the previous administration argued would cut methane pollution from the oil industry by 80%. By eliminating the super-emitter tracking program and weakening inspection requirements, the EPA is prioritizing economic savings for industry operators over the climate and health benefits valued at more than $7 billion a year under the prior rules.

The move aligns with recommendations from Project 2025 and follows petitions from major industry groups, including the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the National Stripper Well Association. The change transfers costs to society while benefiting companies that operate low-producing wells, which collectively account for half of the sector's methane emissions despite producing only 6% of domestic oil and natural gas.