EU delays methane rules on oil and gas imports for a year

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed a one-year delay to the EU's methane emissions rules for oil and gas imports on Wednesday, after pressure from governments including France and the United States.

The rules, due to take effect on January 1, ​2027, would have required foreign oil and gas suppliers to the EU to monitor and ​report methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Under the proposed changes, the rules would come into force in 2028. Importers of oil and gas would have until May 31, 2029, to prove that their oil, gas and coal imports from the previous year complied with methane monitoring and reporting rules equivalent to those of the EU - meaning that their foreign suppliers would need to provide the information.

"This one-year postponement of the import-related provisions is designed to help avoid additional pressures on the security of supply of imported fossil fuels in the current geopolitical context," the Commission said in a statement.

Methane is the second-largest contributor to climate change, after carbon dioxide.

The world-first EU law was designed to tackle those emissions, which leach into the atmosphere from leaky oil and gas infrastructure around the world. But the law has ​faced growing political pressure after the Iran war disrupted global energy supplies and heightened concerns about fuel availability this winter.

The United States, Europe's biggest liquefied natural gas supplier, warned the EU in June that the methane law could disrupt fuel deliveries, a stance backed by ‌companies including oil ⁠major ExxonMobil.

The Commission moved ahead with the delay after French ​President Emmanuel Macron last month wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to request it, and warn the rules could create legal risks for Europe's fuel importers.

Environmental groups, which say delaying the law would not address energy security concerns caused by the disruption from the Iran war, decried the delay, while industry groups called for a longer, three-year postponement.

"Without a mechanism for further extensions, we risk finding ourselves in exactly the same situation 12 months from now," a spokesperson for the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers said.

Those seeking a delay say that foreign oil and gas companies are not ready to comply with the EU rules and would avoid sending LNG cargoes to Europe because of the risk of fines or legal issues.

EU countries and the European Parliament must negotiate and approve the delay. Some EU lawmakers and countries, including Czechia and Italy, have demanded a three-year delay and may attempt to win this in the final negotiations.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Louise Heavens and Tomasz Janowski)