EU eyes methane law delay, IEA to discuss oil stock releases if needed

By Kate Abnett and Sudip Kar-Gupta

BRUSSELS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The European Union is considering delaying its methane emissions rules for oil and gas imports, while International Energy Agency members may discuss whether to release strategic oil reserves, as concerns mount among European governments over rising energy prices and tight supplies this winter.

EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said the bloc was looking at delaying rules which, from January 1, 2027, will require foreign oil and gas producers that supply the EU to monitor and report their emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Methane is the second-biggest cause of climate change, after carbon dioxide. The EU law is facing mounting pushback as the Iran war has disrupted global oil and gas supplies and European governments fear that the threat of penalties for breaching the legislation would deter suppliers from delivering fuel to Europe this winter.

"I have instructed my services... to look into possibilities of postponing the part that has to do with imports," Jorgensen told reporters at a meeting of EU energy ministers in Dublin.

He said he was looking into delaying, not loosening the ambition of the rules.

Any delay, which he said could be a year,  should be conditional on all member states using the extra time to ensure they are fully prepared to implement the law once the postponement expires. 

French President Emmanuel Macron last week called for a one-year delay to the law, arguing ​it could create legal risks for importers as energy supplies tighten. Roughly a dozen other EU countries, as well as the US, Europe's top liquefied natural gas supplier, had asked earlier this year for the law to be paused or rolled back.

IEA MAY DISCUSS STOCK RELEASES

International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol, who joined the EU energy meeting, said IEA member states may discuss whether more strategic oil reserves could be released on the market in the future, but that additional releases are currently "not the number one agenda for the IEA".

"We are following the markets very closely, especially the product markets, diesel and others. If there is a need, of course, we will discuss with our member governments to take the necessary steps," he told reporters ahead of the meeting.

The 32-member IEA agreed in March to a coordinated release of 400 million barrels of strategic oil reserves, the largest such release in ‌history. Birol said countries have so far released 20% of their total stocks, leaving 80% left.

Asked if he was advising the US not to proceed with a ban on diesel exports — an idea that President Donald Trump said he backed last week — Birol said the IEA offered all of its members suggestions on what would be "good for the countries themselves, but also their allies and their partners around the world". 

(Reporting by Kate Abnett and Inti Landauro; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)