The U.S. government will provide up to $1.55 billion in funding to monitor and reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday.

The funding will be accompanied by technical assistance for companies to rein in emissions of the planet-warming greenhouse gas from leaks and daily operations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.

"The amount of methane emitted from oil and gas operations is enough to fuel millions of homes a year, and is a major driver of the climate crisis," said Joe Goffman at EPA's Office of Air and Radiation.

U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, said "over the short term, we know that methane is some 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere. In the Inflation Reduction Act, we created this commonsense program to rein in excess methane emissions from the oil and gas sector and provided the industry with resources to do so. Making this funding available will help more companies, especially small producers, invest in existing technologies to reduce the methane that escapes during oil and gas production, benefiting our planet and economy.”

The proposal requires pipeline operators to establish advanced leak detection programs to detect and repair all gas leaks by strengthening leakage survey and patrolling requirements using technology such as aerial or vehicle surveys, optical gas imaging cameras, and continuous monitoring systems.