Trump EPA moves to roll back Biden-era oil and gas regulations, projecting $45 billion in savings

Speaking at a rally Tuesday in Lubbock, Texas, President Donald Trump announced that the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing major changes to Biden-era oil and natural gas regulations that critics say were unnecessary and especially burdensome for independent producers. The move is projected to boost oil and gas production, though the timeline for that increase remains unclear.

The EPA said its proposed revisions to oil and gas regulations under the Clean Air Act, commonly known as the OOOOb/c rules, would save consumers and businesses $45 billion. The agency criticized the Biden EPA’s “one-size-fits-all, burdensome regulations,” which it said were projected to cost $18 billion. It also said the proposed changes would unlock an estimated 210 million barrels of oil and 1.41 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The Biden administration heralded its 2024 standards as part of its “historic climate agenda,” saying the regulations would reduce methane emissions from the oil and natural gas industry. Industry groups, including the National Stripper Well Association and the Independent Petroleum Association of America, argue the Biden-era rules imposed exorbitant compliance costs that smaller wells could not absorb, squeezing operations run by family businesses.

“The Biden administration weaponized the EPA to advance a political climate agenda that drove up costs, threatened American energy production and imposed unnecessary burdens on the businesses that power our economy,” Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, said in a statement. “These reforms are particularly important for America’s independent producers, who cannot absorb the enormous compliance costs imposed by Washington bureaucrats. Removing unnecessary regulatory barriers will strengthen American energy security, encourage domestic production and help lower costs for families and businesses.”

The Biden administration imposed aggressive restrictions and regulations on the American energy sector, including power plant rules that some energy analysts said could destabilize the power grid. The Trump EPA has worked to reverse many of those actions, touting its deregulatory agenda as a boon for affordability and energy abundance.

The EPA outlined five proposed changes to the Biden-era regulations: creating separate standards for different types of wells, scrapping the so-called “super emitter” program, allowing more time for repairs, loosening restrictions on flaring and easing monitoring requirements for control devices.

The agency said the Biden EPA underestimated the rules’ costs. It argued that by forcing wells to shut down and reducing oil and gas production, the regulations would have driven up energy prices, heating bills, gas prices and grocery costs. The agency also said families often rely on revenue from these wells for retirement savings and that the Biden EPA’s rules would have hit marginal wells hardest.

Steve Milloy, a senior fellow at the Energy and Environment Legal Institute and a former Trump EPA transition team member, described the proposal as “another advance for the America First energy agenda.”

“Regardless of your viewpoint on the Iran war, it spotlighted the need for America to expand its own oil and gas supply and related infrastructure,” Milloy said in a statement.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin first announced a reconsideration of the 2024 regulations in March 2025. The agency said it would hold a public hearing on the proposal and provide at least 45 days for public comment after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.

(Image credit: Screenshot/X/EPA Lee Zeldin)