April 21 (Reuters) - Canada's federal government wants to delay the implementation of its new methane regulations by up to three years to 2020 and expects to fully implement it by 2023, CBC News reported on Thursday.
The initial plan was to begin introducing rules to control methane emissions from the oil and gas industry in 2018, with all the new regulations in place by 2020, CBC News said, citing documents. move is a departure from the commitments made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former U.S. President Barack Obama to cut emissions of methane by 40 to 45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025. amended timeline was a result of discussions between the government and stakeholders and will be incorporated into the proposed regulations expected to be announced at the end of April, CBS News reported.
Major oil producers like ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) COP.N and Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L have cut their exposure to Canada's oil sands operations, which are among the world's most expensive oil plays to develop.
Faced with a lower oil price environment and challenging economics, which include high cost operations and carbon taxes, global players are increasingly put off by the oil sands.
BP Plc BP.L is also considering the sale of its stakes in three Canadian oil sands projects, Reuters reported on Thursday. (http://reut.rs/2oWTvAj)
Methane, which can leak from pipelines and valves, is a powerful greenhouse gas, with up to 80 times the potential of carbon dioxide to trap the planet's heat.
In February, the U.S. House of Representatives repealed a rule put forth in the final days of the Obama administration that limited emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas drilling on federal lands.