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 Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Roger Marshall, M.D, (R-KS) led a group of colleagues in introducing the Marginal Well Protection Act to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from levying excessive methane emission fees for wells that produce less than 15 barrels of oil and less than 90 Mcf (90,000 cubic feet) of natural gas per day. Marginal wells are small, often family-owned wells with around 15 employees or fewer. Marginal wells produce almost 7.5 percent of the entire US oil production supply. Joining Lankford and Marshall in introducing the bill were Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Jim Inhofe (R-OK).

“Biden has made it clear he wants to get rid of good-paying energy jobs to force his radical climate-change agenda,” said Lankford. “Many Oklahomans participate in the small-scale oil and gas production that Democrats in Congress are proposing to punish with a job-destroying methane fine. My colleagues and I want to make sure we protect our American energy independence, especially the smaller oil and gas operations, from crushing methane fees. If the Biden Administration is successful at killing small oil and gas producers, our nation will have to purchase more oil and gas from overseas to meet our national energy needs. An American President should prefer American jobs. Unfortunately this President prefers that we beg for more oil from OPEC and Russia rather than unleash American energy production.”

“Thousands of Kansans rely on our oil and natural gas industry to provide for their families, and small producers simply can’t withstand the financial burden that comes with excess emission fees,” said Marshall. “I’m proud to lead on this legislation that protects small marginal wells from Democrats’ war on America’s oil and gas industry, and will continue to fight to restore our nation’s energy independence despite President Biden’s disastrous policies.”