Oil and gas giants are selling off their most-polluting operations to small private companies. These companies have largely escaped public scrutiny, even as they have become major polluters. A recent United Nations report singled out the oil and gas industry as holding the greatest potential to cut its emissions from methane, and the Biden administration is in the process of reinstating methane regulations relaxed by President Trump. The offloading of aging, high-polluting assets by big fossil fuel companies will very likely intensify. Now, as oil prices rebound, there is concern that these private equity-backed firms will try a final move to squeeze as much as they can from their investment. To be sure, the large producers remain huge emitters.
By Hiroko Tabuchi. New York Times. June 2, 2021.
