From Bloomberg via the Midland Reporter-Telegram, June 24:
Permian Basin faces pollution rules that could curb drilling
The Biden administration is considering triggering tougher anti-smog requirements that could curb drilling across parts of the Permian Basin, the world’s biggest oil field that straddles Texas and New Mexico.
The Environmental Protection Agency is weighing labeling parts of the Permian Basin as violating federal air quality standards for ozone -- a designation that would force state regulators to develop plans for cracking down on that smog-forming pollution. The move, outlined in a regulatory notice, could spur new permitting requirements and scrutiny of drilling operations.
Ozone levels in the basin have surpassed a federal standard “for the last several years -- really since the fracking boom took off in the Permian,” said Jeremy Nichols, climate and energy program director for WildEarth Guardians. The conservation group formally petitioned EPA for the so-called non-attainment designation in March 2021 and, roughly six months later, warned the agency it intended to sue to force action. The designation “basically says you’ve got to clean up this mess or the consequences are going to get even more severe as far as restricting your ability to permit more pollution and more development,” he said....
....MUCH MORE
The story says the Permian is the world's largest field but I think Saudi Arabia's Ghawar, despite pumping for decades, is still the biggest. I could be mistaken though. Either way the Permian is a super-giant.
Secondly, this potential move by the EPA is a very big deal. From the letter that Texas Governor Abbot sent to President Biden on June 27:
....Here is the problem: The EPA recently announced that that it may impose a “discretionary redesignation” of the Permian Basin. See 40 C.F.R. part 81. This action could result in draconian regulations imposed by the EPA that would directly attack America’s most prolific oil field.
The Permian—most of which is located in Texas—accounts for approximately 40 percent of all oil produced in the U.S. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration data, Permian producers in Texas and New Mexico are responsible for 5.2 million barrels of oil per day— which can be processed into about 95,000,000 gallons of gasoline a day. On average, the U.S. consumes 369,000,000 gallons per day. If you let the EPA move forward with the untimely and unnecessary measures that accompany redesignation, that action will put at risk 25 percent of American oil supply. That, in turn, could substantially increase the cost of gasoline....
....MUCH MORE (2 page PDF)
For future reference here is the OMB notice:
....In 2017, EPA designated certain counties in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas located in the area known as the Permian Basin attainment/unclassifiable for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. EPA is now considering a discretionary redesignation for (portions of) these counties in New Mexico and Texas for the 2015 ozone NAAQS under Clean Air Act section 107(d)(3) based on current monitoring data and other air quality factors. If the area is redesignated to nonattainment, the state(s) will be required to submit a State Implementation Plan to bring the area into attainment with the 2015 ozone NAAQS.....
