Investors Press Oil Industry to Oppose Trump Methane Rollbacks
(Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and BP Plc are being pressed by investors with $1.9 trillion in assets under management to resist the Trump administration's efforts to roll back Obama-era methane rules.
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility sent a letter to 30 oil and natural gas explorers on behalf of 61 investors urging the companies to publicly declare their support for regulating methane emissions and oppose the Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to weaken existing rules.
The letter was signed by investors including the New York City Comptroller's Office, Trillium Asset Management LLC and the California State Teachers' Retirement System.
"Rolling back federal regulation will lead to excessive methane emissions that needlessly tarnish the reputation of natural gas as a clean fuel and call into question the role natural gas can play in a low-carbon future," according to the letter. "Absent any expressed position on the importance of good regulation, industry silence will likely be interpreted as implicit support for no regulation at all."
The Trump administration has moved to repeal or revise an array of environmental mandates, including many imposed under former President Barack Obama. The EPA has proposed easing requirements for oil companies to detect and repair leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere 84 times more than carbon dioxide.
The EPA proposal, made in September, would lessen the frequency of required inspections to hunt for methane leaks, remove a requirement that professional engineers certify some equipment designs and make it easier for energy companies to deploy emerging technologies to monitor emissions.
The EPA said its changes would save an estimated $484 million in regulatory costs from 2019 to 2025, or $75 million annually.
--With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Wethe in Houston at dwethe@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net, Christine Buurma, Will Wade
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
-
High US Salaries, No Green Card Certainty: The Financial Calculation Facing Indian H-1B Families
The suspension of PERM processing at eight technology employers does not cancel existing H-1B visas. What it does is force a question many Indian families have been avoiding: is the US salary worth tying your career and family plans to one employer?
-
Swiggy vs Eternal: Food Delivery's Two Rivals Are No Longer In The Same Race
Eternal is building a private AI assistant, dark.ai. Swiggy is still working out how to make Instamart pay, with an operating loss of Rs 895 crore in the July-September quarter while Blinkit stayed profitable.
-
Where You Live Shapes How You Get To Work | The Reason Why
Two-wheelers are the most popular way to get to work in India, accounting for nearly 43% of workplace commutes.
-
Unhedged Position: Can India See An Indonesia-Style Time Correction?
The Nifty is trading below levels it first clocked in 2024. Is there, then, as I have suggested in the headline, potential that the current time correction drags on painfully for the next three-five, even ten years?
-
Navigating Friction And Energy Realities: An Analysis Of Marco Rubio's October Visit To India
Occurring at a critical juncture marked by stalled trade negotiations and escalating geopolitical pressures over global energy supplies, the visit offers a profound window into modern US-India relations.
-
India Exports Capital. Why Not Export Trusteeship?
The big question, then, is whether India can build an institution that global borrowers, investors, banks, and lawyers can trust, even without an Indian connection.
-
France's Economy & Politics Are In Crisis | The Reason Why
Let's look at how the French economy and politics evolved under Nicolas Sarkozy, Franois Hollande and Emmanuel Macron.
-
You May Inherit The Business. You Must Earn Its Credibility.
Succession tests the founder's ability to share authority as much as it tests the next generation's readiness to assume it.
-
Signing Deals Is One Thing; Making Them Work Is Another | The Week In Whys
Sometimes, things don't turn out as planned. Indian companies have lost some bids to rivals, some projects won't produce until 2030.
-
FOMC Wall, PERM Suspension, Hospital Stocks | Talking Points This Week
A PERM suspension would directly affect green-card sponsorship rather than H-1B visas, so the near-term earnings impact could remain relatively limited. The key question is whether this marks a new phase in US scrutiny of Indian IT.
