Methane Emissions Reduction Program

Interagency Agreement Facilitated by NETL

NETL, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory with a distinguished history of delivering solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future, is leading an over $1 billion interagency agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide financial and technical assistance in support of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP). This initiative will drive critical methane emissions reduction activity across the U.S. oil and gas industry as directed by the Inflation Reduction Act statutory requirements under Section 60113, which amended the Clean Air Act by adding Section 136.

Under the Methane Emissions Reduction Program, NETL is:

• Building upon DOE and EPA’s extensive technical and energy management experience NETL will identify strategic research, development, and demonstration opportunities that will accelerate the reduction of methane emissions across the oil and natural gas industry.
• Leveraging NETL’s Research Innovation Center (RIC) core technical competencies, technical assistance will be provided to a diverse set of stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of commercially available and next generation methane monitoring and mitigation technologies.
• Using the core technical competencies that have positioned NETL as an international resource for fossil energy and carbon management technology discovery, development, and deployment to provide quality technical assistance to stakeholders.
• Employing the significant technical capabilities of its Research and Innovation Center (RIC) to provide technical assistance and applied research to support the initiative.

Financial and technical assistance for the Methane Emissions Reduction Program has been carefully designed to benefit stakeholders engaged in the oil and gas industry and local and regional communities from the reduction of methane emissions. This initiative provides an aggressive approach to:

• Addressing the Biden-Harris administration climate change directive to achieve a greenhouse gas neutral economy by 2050.
• Focusing funding and resources to effectively reduce methane emissions by accelerating efficient measurement, monitoring, and mitigation technologies and supporting approaches in the sectors of oil and gas industries where methane emissions are most prevalent.
• Building a clean and equitable energy economy by:
  • Supporting meaningful community engagement
  • Investing in America’s workforce
  • Contributing to President’s Justice 40 Initiative

Explore the Methane Emissions Reduction Program

MERP Project Map (Coming Soon)

News Stories

Funding Opportunity Announcements

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