Officials from six countries are asking the European Union to pause parts of its methane rules for energy imports, while EU lawmakers consider separate delays to selected obligations.
An Oct. 22 letter published by the U.S. Department of Energy lists U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright; Algeria’s Minister of Hydrocarbons Mohamed Arkab; Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat; Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy Yerlan Akkenzhenov; Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo; and Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi.
The signatories seek a temporary pause to develop compliance methods, protection for new contracts made during legislative changes, and no penalties for noncompliance during the transition. They say unclear requirements create legal and financial uncertainty for importers and exporters. If adopted, their requests would give those businesses more time to prepare.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 took effect Aug. 4, 2024. It covers methane emissions across fossil-fuel supply chains, including measurement, reporting and verification, as well as leak detection and repair. From Jan. 1, 2027, importers must demonstrate and report that fuel supplied under covered crude oil, natural gas and coal contracts is subject to producer-level measures equivalent to EU requirements. That full equivalence obligation applies to contracts concluded or renewed on or after Aug. 4, 2024; importers have a reasonable-efforts obligation for older contracts. The first report covering 2027 supplies is due May 31, 2028.
The European Commission proposed a one-year delay to reporting-related provisions on Oct. 14. On Oct. 22, the European Parliament voted 341-225, with six abstentions, to back three-year delays to specified importer and producer obligations.
The vote sets Parliament’s position in the legislative process; it does not amend the current regulation. Parliament said it was ready to negotiate with the Council, while the existing requirements remain in force.
