Trump Tells Lubbock Rally He's Ending Biden Methane Rules on Oil Wells

President Donald Trump told a packed rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday night that his administration is ending Biden-era methane rules on oil and gas wells, a move he said would cut costs for families and producers one week before the midterm elections.

“Tonight, I am officially terminating Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers $45 billion in costs, unlock vast quantities of Texas natural gas, and produce 210 million barrels of oil,” Trump said, according to video of the remarks posted on X by the White House’s Rapid Response 47 account.

BREAKING: President Trump makes a major energy policy announcement at his Texas rally.

"Tonight, I'm officially terminating Biden's expensive and unnecessary methane regulations."

The president claims the rollback will save consumers and energy producers $45 billion while… pic.twitter.com/t5FeOFfhnb

— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 28, 2026

The step is formally a proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency, not a finished rule. Reuters reported earlier Tuesday, citing a White House official, that Trump would announce an EPA plan to roll back Biden-era requirements that made companies fix leaky equipment and regularly check wells for escaping methane. Bloomberg News also reported, citing an administration official, that the proposal would dial back federal methane requirements on oil and gas operations.

What the plan would change

According to Reuters, the White House official said the plan would give relief to small, low-output wells, often called marginal wells, which are common across West Texas and other older oil fields. Reuters reported the proposal would also end a program that relied on outside groups to report large methane leaks, and would ease rules aimed at phasing out the routine burning off of gas at well sites.

The administration is casting the rollback as a way to produce more American energy and bring down prices, Reuters reported. The Associated Press reported that the move aims to encourage more domestic drilling as Trump faces criticism over high fuel prices during the U.S. war with Iran.

The AP noted that the 210 million barrels Trump cited is roughly equal to 10 days of U.S. petroleum consumption. The AP also reported that scientists estimate methane is responsible for about a third of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, the main argument environmental groups have made for the Biden-era rules.

Energy prices on the ballot

The announcement came on Trump’s third trip to Texas this month to rally support for Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, according to Reuters, which reported that Paxton is locked in a close race with Democrat James Talarico. Reuters described the methane rollback as the latest in a string of pre-election steps by the president to address fuel prices, which the outlet said have become a political liability for Republicans.

Trump pitched the move to a West Texas crowd in the heart of oil country, saying in his remarks that it would unlock vast quantities of Texas natural gas.

The proposal is not final. The EPA will take public comment for at least 45 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register, including at a public hearing, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported, citing an agency fact sheet. According to that fact sheet, about 783,000 of the nation’s more than 990,000 oil and gas wells, or 79 percent, count as marginal wells. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin previewed the plan before Tuesday’s announcement, saying in an agency release that it takes on “the burden on marginal wells,” the Super Emitter Program and associated gas rules.

The White House has not yet released the full text of the proposal. Daily Beltway will update this story when the EPA publishes it.

Sources

• Fox News on X: Trump announces methane rollback at Texas rally
• Rapid Response 47 on X: video of Trump’s Lubbock remarks
• Associated Press: Trump says he’s ending restrictions on climate-warming emissions from oil drilling
• Reuters: Trump to roll back methane rules in latest Texas campaign push
• Bloomberg News: Trump to ease oil well methane curbs in bid to lower costs
• EPA: Administrator Zeldin announces EPA is days away from unveiling next oil and gas proposal
• Daily Caller News Foundation: Trump moves to ease Biden’s methane crackdown on oil and gas wells
• Oil & Gas Journal: US EPA plans further rollback of oil, gas methane rules

Reporting by Daily Beltway.