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Reducing methane emissions in the United States is yet another example of how the nation’s environmental challenges can also be economic opportunities. Methane is a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is many times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) and one of the largest contributors to climate change. Reducing methane emissions can reap economic benefits for workers and communities across the country. 

To address the problem of oil and gas methane emissions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a “Proposed Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, Modified, and Existing Sources in the Oil and Natural Gas Sector.’’ These standards are intended to bring improved technologies and practices to the energy sector with the expressed purpose of reducing waste and pollution.2 This report examines the impact of these standards through direct and indirect job creation, as well as through job quality. This report focuses on the impacts of the EPA’s supplemental methane rule released in November 2022. 

The analysis finds positive employment impacts from the proposed standards, which result from investments in emissions reduction technologies—specifically in leak detection and reduction systems, which are more labor intensive than current leak detection technology and practices used by the oil and gas extraction industry. This drives greater employment opportunities compared to the normal, business-as-usual oil and gas operations. The analysis found:

The assessment found that over 10,000 net direct and indirect jobs will be created annually in a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, construction, and operations and maintenance.

With full and continuing adoption of leak reducing technologies and practices at new, modified, and existing oil and gas facilities, this would suggest the creation of over 136,000 job-years through 2035. 

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