A powerful US oil and gas industry lobby group has come up with detailed plans to kill off penalties for emitting methane, known to be a potent planet-heating gas that’s increasing at the fastest rate in decades, with this effort led by a major donor to Donald Trump whose company has just been fined for methane pollution.
Leaked internal documents from the American Exploration & Production Council (AXPC), a group of 30 oil and gas producers, outline a push to repeal a fee levied on methane emissions should the former US president win this week’s election and Republicans gain control of Congress.
The plan, coming as scientists warn that methane emissions are rising at a rate that imperils a livable climate, is being spearheaded by an AXPC board that includes the chief executive of Hilcorp, a Texas-based firm whose founder Jeff Hildebrand has, along with his wife, Melinda, been a leading donor to Trump’s election campaign, holding multiple fundraisers for the former president.
The Hildebrands have donated more than $3m, almost all to Republicans, in this election cycle amid a record glut of oil and gas industry contributions to Trump. Methane regulations are of particular interest to Hildebrand – this month, Hilcorp agreed to pay a $9.4m civil penalty for violations in its emission of methane, among pother pollutants, from its New Mexico operations.
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Hilcorp was revealed in 2021 to be the US’s leading methane emitter among energy businesses, releasing nearly 50% more methane from its operations than the country’s largest fossil fuel producer, ExxonMobil, despite drilling for far less oil and gas.
Another AXPC board member is Lee Tillman, chief executive of Marathon Oil, which in July had to pay $241.5m to resolve federal allegations that it unlawfully emitted methane in North Dakota. The lobby group’s plan envisions “advocating with R’s [Republicans]” to repeal a methane fee the documents complain “disproportionately penalizes oil-heavy operators”.
The documents outline hopes for a Republican reconciliation bill to kill off the methane fee, as well as further legal action and “additional pressure on EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) politicals” to achieve industry-friendly policies.
Climate campaigners said the plan is evidence big oil will exert an outsized influence over Trump after he directly asked oil executives for $1bn in campaign donations during a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club in April. Industry figures such as Hildebrand are “writing his marching orders for him ahead of time”, said Pete Jones, rapid response director of Climate Power.
“Trump promised a room full of fossil fuel billionaires that he’d let them pollute our air and water, let them off the hook for dangerous spills, and fight to make them a fortune, even if it means forfeiting critical health protections,” Jones said.
Story was adapted the Guardian.
