The United States insists that the European Union exempt it from obligations to report data under the EU Methane Regulation until 2035, Reuters reported on Monday, citing a U.S. document circulated to EU governments.
The U.S. and its gas industry have lobbied this year for repeal or significant amendments of the EU’s climate laws and regulations which, the U.S. says, threaten Europe’s energy supply and security.
The EU Methane Regulation, effective from August 4, 2024, aims to reduce methane emissions from the energy sector. For imports, the next milestone in the regulation is the monitoring, reporting, and verification requirement.
Under this requirement, importers must demonstrate – as of January 2027 – that the crude oil, natural gas, or coal imported into the EU was produced in a jurisdiction with monitoring, reporting, and verification requirements equivalent to those applied domestically in the EU.
However, the U.S. has told the EU governments that if the legislation isn’t fully repealed, the United States should be given a “delay requiring U.S. emissions data reporting under ?the EUMR [EU methane regulation] until October 2035,” according to the U.S. government document seen by Reuters.
The U.S. and another major LNG exporter, Qatar, are also spearheading efforts to have the European Union repeal or materially amend another controversial legislation, the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which imposes penalties on companies in case of non-compliance and has drawn the ire of Qatar and the United States and supermajors including ExxonMobil.
Importers of LNG may have to divert cargoes away from the EU as of 2027 due to non-compliance with the legislation, which would reduce gas supply just as Europe will have phased out Russian gas flows, according to gas producers and traders and the world’s biggest LNG exporters, the United States and Qatar.
Exxon would be forced to quit its business in Europe if the EU doesn’t materially ease or repeal the corporate sustainability directive, CEO Darren Woods said last month.
Exxon’s top executive has told Bloomberg recently that the directive is “the worst piece of legislation I’ve seen since I’ve been in this job.”
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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