US gas exporters request to delay EU methane regulations until 2028

A top official from the 'national suppliers' group said that the U.S. gas industry is asking Europe to delay enforcement of the new law on methane emissions until 2028. He warned the regulatory risk was already holding back long-term agreements with European customers.

Charlie Riedl, Senior Vice President of Natural Gas Supply Association in Amsterdam, said that U.S. Exporters want more time and clarifications about the new methane laws.

He said U.S. importers wanted a delay of at least January 2028 until the EU law was applied to imported goods.

The EU methane legislation requires that, starting in January 2027 imported gas comply with monitoring and verifying rules equal to Europe's or meet the voluntary industry standard "Oil and Gas Methane Partnership - 2.0 Level 5".

Riedl stated that "I am aware?that several?companies represented by the association have instructed their staff to not sign long-term contracts... due to the uncertainty."

The United States is now Europe's biggest supplier of liquefied gas (LNG). This will help to replace the sharp decline in Russian pipeline gas following Moscow's invasion in Ukraine in 2022.

According to the International Energy Agency, global?gas markets will remain tight as the Iran conflict has disrupted a fifth or more of the global LNG supply. It also delayed the?new capacity.

Some companies have signed "new supply agreements" with U.S. producers in order to fill the gap caused by the anticipated delay of new supplies from Qatar because of the damage caused during the war.

Oil?and gas majors in Europe, as well as other oil?and-gas companies, called on Brussels to suspend its methane emission law. They warned that it could disrupt Europe's fuel supplies.

The European Commission, which is a key pillar in its climate strategy, has given companies more flexible options for compliance but has not yet rolled back this policy. Reporting by Francesca Landini from Amsterdam and Marwa Rashed in London. Editing by Tomasz Janovowski

(source: Reuters)