Judge blocks Biden administration’s rule to limit flaring of gas at oil wells

A flare burns natural gas at an oil well in Watford City, North Dakota on Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge in North Dakota has temporarily blocked a new Biden administration rule aimed at reducing the venting and flaring of natural gas at oil wells.

“At this preliminary stage, the plaintiffs have shown they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim the 2024 Rule is arbitrary and capricious,” U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor ruled Friday, the Bismarck Tribune reported.

North Dakota, along with Montana, Texas, Wyoming and Utah, challenged the rule in federal court earlier this year, arguing that it would hinder oil and gas production and that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management is overstepping its regulatory authority on non-federal minerals and air pollution.

The bureau says the rule is intended to reduce the waste of gas and that royalty owners would see over $50 million in additional payments if it was enforced.

But Traynor wrote that the rules “add nothing more than a layer of federal regulation on top of existing federal regulation.”

When pumping for oil, natural gas often comes up as a byproduct. Gas isn’t as profitable as oil, so it is vented or flared unless the right equipment is in place to capture.

Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a climate “super pollutant” that is many times more potent in the short term than carbon dioxide.

Well operators have reduced flaring rates in North Dakota significantly over the past few years, but they still hover around 5%, the Tribune reported. Reductions require infrastructure to capture, transport and use that gas.

North Dakota politicians praised the ruling.

“The Biden-Harris administration continuously attempts to over-regulate and ultimately debilitate North Dakota’s energy production capabilities,” state Attorney General Drew Wrigley said in a statement.

The Bureau of Land Management declined comment.