EU urges three-year pause on methane reporting fines for oil and gas firms

The European Union told member states on Monday to hold off imposing fines on oil and gas firms over methane emissions reporting failures for three years, after pressure to pause new rules.

Importers of oil and gas are required from January to monitor and report methane emissions under a reform meant to reduce leaks of the greenhouse gas. A dozen of the EU's 27 countries called for a delay in applying the rules, saying they would narrow Europe's supplier base while energy markets were still affected by the US-Iran war. The United States, described in the source as the bloc's biggest oil supplier, backed the call.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, kept the 2027 start date for the rules in recommendations to member states. However, it said countries should refrain until the end of 2029 from fining energy importers that fail to submit the required reports.

The commission said the move would help protect security of supply during tight global energy markets caused by the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and conflict in the Middle East.

Environmental activists have urged the EU to keep its methane rules unchanged. The United Nations last month called for renewed efforts to cut methane emissions, which it said account for one-third of greenhouse gas warming and are about 80 times more potent than CO2.

The source said the fossil fuel sector accounts for 35 percent of methane released by human activity, mainly through leaks, flaring and venting from oil and gas operations.