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Germany Reportedly Joins Hostility to New Methane Emission Rules on EU Oil, Gas Imports

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Germany has added its voice to a chorus of dissent over the EU's plans to impose methane emission compliance rules on the oil and gas imports, noting that the regulatory change could disrupt the supply of jet fuel, media reports said late last week.

Starting in 2027, fuel imports will be subject to monitoring to determine their associated methane emissions in a measure that seeks to reduce leaks of the gas that has a greenhouse effect many times more potent than carbon dioxide.

The plan has met with fierce resistance from industry, and the US warned last week that its imposition could interfere with gas deliveries to Europe.

"As it stands, the methane regulation would prevent not only gas imports into Germany - LNG - but also petroleum products from being imported from 2027 onwards," Reuters reported German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche as saying.

Reiche was speaking ahead of a meeting with 12 other EU governments, including Italy, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, all of which want to delay the regulation's introduction by three years.

"We need at least a postponement or a suspension of the methane regulation so that the Federal Republic of Germany can reliably secure its supply of gas imports, as well as petroleum products such as kerosene," Reiche said.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Bloomberg last week that the US would send gas it normally sends to Europe to other buyers if the EU does not relent on the new rules.

The Reuters article said a number of energy analysts and environmental campaigners have dismissed the argument that the regulation would limit fuel imports to the EU, arguing that compliant supplies exist in abundance.

In the midst of the backlash, the European Commission has made plans to waive penalties for those found to be in breach of the new rules.

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