Legal provisions of COM(2021)805 - Methane emissions reduction in the energy sector

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dossier COM(2021)805 - Methane emissions reduction in the energy sector.
document COM(2021)805 EN
date December 15, 2021



Chapter 1

General Provisions

Contents

Article 1 - Subject matter and scope

1. This Regulation lays down rules for the accurate measurement, reporting and verification of methane emissions in the energy sector in the Union, as well as the abatement of those emissions, including through leak detection and repair surveys and restrictions on venting and flaring. This Regulation also lays down rules on tools ensuring transparency of methane emissions from imports of fossil energy into the Union.

2. This Regulation applies to:

(a) oil and fossil gas upstream exploration and production, fossil gas gathering and processing;

(b) gas transmission, distribution, underground storage and liquid gas (LNG) terminals operating with fossil and/or renewable (bio-or synthetic) methane;

(c) operating underground and surface coalmines, closed and abandoned underground coal mines.

3. This Regulation applies to methane emissions occurring outside the Union in what relates to importer information requirements, to the methane transparency database and to the methane emitters monitoring tool.

Article 2 - Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘methane emissions’ means all direct emissions occurring from all components that are potential sources of methane emissions, whether as a result of intentional or unintentional venting, incomplete combustion in flares or from other components and unintentional leaks; 

(2) ‘transmission system operator’ has the meaning attributed to it by [Article 2(4) of Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 41 ] [to be adapted as per ongoing recast proposal];

(3) ‘distribution system operator’ has the meaning attributed to it by [Article 2(6) of Directive 2009/73/EC] [to be adapted as per ongoing recast proposal];

(4) ‘operator’ means any natural or legal person who operates or controls an asset or, where provided for in national legislation, to whom decisive economic power over the technical functioning of an asset has been delegated;

(5) ‘mine operator’ means any natural or legal person who operates or controls a coal mine or, where provided for in national legislation, to whom decisive economic power over the technical functioning of a coal mine has been delegated;

(6) ‘verification’ means the activities carried out by a verifier to assess the conformity of the reports transmitted by the operators and mine operators;

(7) ‘verifier’ means a legal person different from the competent authorities appointed in accordance with Article 4 of this Regulation which carries out verification activities and which is accredited by a national accreditation body pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 or a natural person otherwise authorised, without prejudice to Article 5(2) of that Regulation, at the time a verification statement is issued; 

(8) ‘source’ means a component or a geological structure that releases methane into the atmosphere whether intentionally or unintentionally, intermittently or persistently;

(9) ‘asset’ means a business or operating unit, which can be composed of several facilities or sites, including assets under the operational control of the operator (operated assets) and assets which are not under the operational control of the operator (non-operated assets);

(10) ‘emission factor’ means a coefficient that quantifies the emissions or removals of a gas per unit activity, which is often based on a sample of measurement data, averaged to develop a representative rate of emission for a given activity level under a given set of operating conditions; 

(11) ‘generic emission factor’ means a standardised emission factor for each type of emission source which is derived from inventories or databases, but in any case not verified through direct measurements;

(12) ‘specific emission factor’ means an emission factor derived from direct measurements;

(13) ‘direct measurement’ means direct quantification of the methane emission at source-level with a methane measuring device;

(14) ‘site-level methane emissions’ means all sources of emissions within an asset;

(15) ‘site-level measurement’ means a top-down measurement and typically involves the use of sensors mounted on a mobile platform, such as vehicles, drones, aircrafts, boats and satellites or other means to capture a complete overview of emissions across an entire site; 

(16) ‘undertaking’ means a natural or legal person carrying out at least one of the following functions: upstream oil and fossil gas exploitation, exploration and production, fossil gas gathering and processing and gas transmission, distribution and underground storage, including LNG;

(17) ‘leak detection and repair survey’ means a survey to identify sources of methane emissions, including leaks and unintentional venting;

(18) ‘venting’ means the release of uncombusted methane into the atmosphere either intentionally from processes, activities or devices designed for such a purpose, or unintentionally in the case of a malfunction or geological constraints;

(19) ‘flaring’ means the controlled combustion of methane for the purpose of disposal in a device designed for said combustion;

(20) ‘emergency’ means a temporary, unexpected, infrequent situation in which the methane emission is unavoidable and necessary to prevent an immediate and substantial adverse impact on human safety, public health or the environment, but does not include situations arising from or related to the following events:

(a) failure of the operator to install appropriate equipment of sufficient capacity for the expected or actual rate and pressure of production;

(b) failure of the operator to limit production where the production rate exceeds the capacity of the related equipment or gathering system, except where the excess production is due to a downstream emergency, malfunction, or unscheduled repair and lasts for no longer than eight hours from the time of notification of the downstream capacity issue;

(c) scheduled maintenance;

(d) operator negligence;

(e) repeated failures, that is to say four or more failures within the preceding 30 days, of the same piece of equipment;

(21) ‘malfunction’ means a sudden, unavoidable failure or breakdown of equipment beyond the reasonable control of the operator that substantially disrupts operations but does not include a failure or breakdown that is caused entirely or in part by poor maintenance, careless operation or other preventable equipment failure or breakdown;

(22) ‘routine flaring’ means flaring during the normal production of oil or fossil gas and in the absence of sufficient facilities or amenable geology to re-inject methane, utilise it on-site, or dispatch it to a market; 

(23) ‘flare stack’ means a device equipped with a burner used to flare methane;

(24) ‘inactive well’ means an oil or gas well or well site where operations for exploration or production have ceased for at least one year;

(25) ‘remediating’ means the process of cleaning up contaminated water and soil;

(26) ‘reclaiming’ means the process of returning a well or well site to having soil and vegetation conditions similar to those that existed before it was disturbed;

(27) ‘coal mine’ means a site where coal mining occurs or has occurred, including lands, excavations, underground passageways, shafts, slopes, tunnels and workings, structures, facilities, equipment, machines and tools situated on the surface or underground and used in, or resulting from the work of extracting lignite, subbituminous coal, bituminous coal, or anthracite from its natural deposits in the earth by any means or method, including the work of preparing the coal to be extracted; 

(28) ‘operating coal mine’ means a coal mine where the majority of its revenue comes from the work of extracting lignite, subbituminous coal, bituminous coal or anthracites, and where at least one of the following conditions apply:

(a) mine development is underway.

(b) coal has been produced within the last 90 days.

(c) mine ventilation fans are operative.

(29) ‘underground coal mine’ means a coal mine where coal is produced by tunnelling into the earth to the coalbed, which is then mined with underground mining equipment such as cutting machines and continuous, longwall and shortwall mining machines, and transported to the surface;

(30) ‘surface coal mine’ means a coal mine where coal lies near the surface and can be extracted by removing the covering layers of rock and soil;

(31) ‘ventilation shaft’ means a vertical passage used to move fresh air underground or to remove methane and other gases from an underground coal mine;

(32) ‘drainage station’ means a station collecting methane from a coal mine gas drainage system; 

(33) ‘drainage system’ means a system, which may comprise multiple methane sources and which drains methane-rich gas from coal seams or surrounding rock strata and transports it to a drainage station;

(34) ‘post-mining activities’ are activities carried out after coal has been mined and brought to the surface, including coal handling, processing, storage, and transport;

(35) ‘continuous measurement’ means a measurement where the reading is taken at least every minute;

(36) ‘ventilation air methane’ means methane emitted from coal seams and other gas-bearing strata and which enters the ventilation air and is exhausted from the ventilation shaft;

(37) ‘coal deposit’ is an area of the land containing significantly mineable quantities of coal, defined according to the Member State’s methodology on documenting geological mineral deposits;

(38) ‘closed coal mine’ means a coal mine with an identified operator, owner or licensee and closed according to the applicable licensing requirements or other regulations;

(39) ‘abandoned coal mine’ means a coal mine where an operator, owner or licensee cannot be identified, or that has not been closed in a regulated manner;

(40) ‘coking coal mine’ means a mine where at least 50% of the production output averaged over the last three available years is coking coal, as defined in Annex B of Regulation (EC) no 1099/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council 42 ;

(41) ‘importer’ means a natural or legal person established in the Union who, in the course of a commercial activity, places fossil energy from a third country on the Union market.

Article 3 - Costs of regulated operators

1. When fixing or approving transmission or distribution tariffs or the methodologies to be used by transmission system operators, distribution system operators, LNG terminal operators or other regulated companies including where applicable underground gas storage operators, regulatory authorities shall take into account the costs incurred and investments made to comply with the obligations under this Regulation, insofar as they correspond to those of an efficient and structurally comparable regulated operator.

2. Every three years, the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) shall establish and make publicly available a set of indicators and corresponding reference values for the comparison of unit investment costs linked to measurement, reporting and abatement of methane emissions for comparable projects.


Chapter 2

Competent authorities and independent verification

Article 4 - Competent authorities

1. Each Member State shall designate one or more competent authorities responsible for monitoring and enforcing the application of this Regulation.

Member States shall notify the Commission of the names and contact details of the competent authorities by … [3 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation]. Member States shall notify the Commission without delay of any changes to the names or contact details of the competent authorities.

2. The Commission shall make a list of the competent authorities publicly available and shall regularly update that list.

3. Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities have adequate powers and resources to perform the obligations set out in this Regulation.

Article 5 - Tasks of the competent authorities

1. The competent authorities shall take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with the requirements set out in this Regulation.

2. Operators and mine operators shall provide the competent authorities with all assistance necessary to enable or facilitate the performance of the tasks of the competent authorities referred to in this Regulation, notably as regards access to the premises and the presentation of documentation or records.

3. The competent authorities shall cooperate with each other and with the Commission and as necessary with authorities of third countries, in order to ensure compliance with this Regulation. The Commission may set up a network of competent authorities to foster cooperation, with the necessary arrangements for exchanging information and best practices and allow for consultations.

4. Where reports are to be made public in accordance with this Regulation, the competent authorities shall make them publicly available free of charge, on a designated website and in freely accessible, downloadable and editable format.

Where information is kept confidential in accordance with Article 4 of Directive 2003/4/EC, the competent authorities shall indicate the type of information that has been withheld and the reason therefor.

Article 6 - Inspections

1. The competent authorities shall carry out periodic inspections to check the compliance of operators or mine operators with the requirements set out in this Regulation. The first inspection shall be completed by … [18 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation].

2. Inspections shall include, where relevant, site checks or field audits examination of documentation and records that demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this Regulation, methane emissions detection and concentration measurements and any follow-up action undertaken by or on behalf of the competent authority to check and promote compliance of sites or facilities with the requirements of this Regulation.

Where an inspection has identified a serious breach of the requirements of this Regulation, the competent authorities shall issue a notice of remedial actions to be undertaken by the operator or mine operator, as part of the report referred to in paragraph 5.

3. After the first inspection referred to in paragraph 1, the competent authorities shall draw up programmes for routine inspections. The period between inspections shall be based on an appraisal of the environmental risk and shall not exceed two years. Where an inspection has identified a serious breach of the requirements of this Regulation, the subsequent inspection shall take place within one year.

4. The competent authorities shall carry out non-routine inspections:

(a) to investigate substantiated complaints referred to in Article 7 and occurrences of non-compliance as soon as possible after the date the competent authorities become aware of such complaints or non-compliance;

(b) to ensure that leak repairs or replacements of components were carried out in accordance with Article 14.

5. Following each inspection, the competent authorities shall prepare a report describing the legal basis for the inspection, the procedural steps followed, the relevant findings and recommendations for the further action by the operator or mine operator.

The report shall be notified to the operator concerned and made publicly available within two months of the date of the inspection. Where the report was triggered by a complaint made in accordance with Article 7, the competent authorities shall notify the complainant once the report is publicly available.

The report shall be made publicly available by the competent authorities in accordance with Directive 2003/4/EC. Where information is kept confidential in accordance with Article 4 of Directive 2003/4/EC, the competent authorities shall indicate in the report the type of information that has been withheld and the reason thereof.

6. Operators and mine operators shall take all the necessary actions set out in the report referred to in paragraph 5 within the period determined by the competent authorities or any other period agreed with the competent authorities.

Article 7 - Complaints lodged with the competent authorities

1. Any natural or legal person which considers that it has suffered injury as a result of a breach of the requirements of this Regulation by operators or mine operators, may lodge a written complaint with the competent authorities.

2. The complaints shall be duly substantiated and contain sufficient evidence of the alleged breach and of the injury resulting therefrom.

3. Where it becomes apparent that the complaint does not provide sufficient evidence to justify pursuing an investigation, the competent authorities shall inform the complainant of the reasons for their decision not to pursue an investigation.

4. Without prejudice to the rules applicable pursuant to national law, the competent authorities shall keep the complainant informed of the steps taken in the procedure and, where applicable, inform them of appropriate alternative forms of redress, such as recourse to national courts or any other national or international complaints procedure.

5. Without prejudice to the rules applicable pursuant to national law and on the basis of comparable procedures, the competent authorities shall establish and make publicly available indicative periods to take a decision on complaints.

Article 8 - Verification activities and verification statement

1. Verifiers shall assess the conformity of the emissions reports submitted to them by operators or mine operators in accordance with this Regulation. They shall assess the conformity of the reports with the requirements laid down this Regulation and review all data sources and methodologies used in order to assess their reliability, credibility and accuracy, in particular the following points:

(a) the choice and employment of emission factors;

(b) the methodologies, calculations, samplings, statistical distributions and levels of materiality leading to the determination of methane emissions;

(c) any risks of inappropriate measuring or reporting;

(d) any quality control or quality assurance systems applied by the operators or mine operators.

2. In carrying out the verification activities referred to in paragraph 1, verifiers shall use free and publicly available European or international standards for methane emissions quantification as made applicable by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 5. Until such date where the applicability of those standards is determined by the Commission, verifiers shall use existing European or international standards for quantification and verification of greenhouse gas emissions.

Verifiers may conduct site checks to determine the reliability, credibility and accuracy of the data sources and methodologies used.

3. Verifiers shall issue a verification statement verifying the conformity of the emissions report and specifying the verification work carried out, once their assessment concludes with reasonable assurance that the emissions report complies with the requirements of this Regulation.

The verifiers shall only issue the verification statement where reliable, credible and accurate data and information enable the methane emissions to be determined with a reasonable degree of certainty and provided the reported data is coherent with the estimated data, complete and free of inconsistencies.

Where the assessment concludes that the emissions report does not comply with the requirements of this Regulation, the verifiers shall inform the operator or the mine operator thereof and the operator or the mine operator shall submit a revised emissions report to the verifier without delay.

4. Operators and mine operators shall provide the verifiers with all the assistance necessary to enable or facilitate the performance of the verification activities, notably as regards access to the premises and the presentation of documentation or records.

5. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 31 to supplement this Regulation by incorporating and setting out the applicability of European or international standards on methane emissions quantification and measurement for the purposes of this Regulation.

Article 9 - Independence and accreditation of verifiers

1. Verifiers shall be independent from the operators and mine operators and shall carry out the activities required under this Regulation in the public interest. For that purpose, neither the verifiers nor any part of the same legal entity shall be an operator or mine operator, the owner of an operator or mine operator, or be owned by them, nor shall the verifiers have relations with operators or mine operators that could affect their independence and impartiality.

2. Verifiers shall be accredited by a national accreditation body pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.

3. Where no specific provisions concerning the accreditation of verifiers are laid down in this Regulation, the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 shall apply.

Article 10 - International Methane Emissions Observatory

1. Provided the interest of the Union is protected, the International Methane Emissions Observatory shall be attributed a verification role with respect to methane emissions data, in particular with regard to the following tasks:

(a)    aggregation of methane emissions data in accordance with appropriate statistical methods;

(b)    verification of methodologies and statistical processes employed by companies to quantify methane emissions data;

(c)    development of data aggregation and analysis methodologies in accordance with scientific and statistical good practice to ensure a higher level of accuracy of emission estimates, with appropriate characterization of the uncertainty;

(d)    publication of aggregated company reported data by core source and by level of reporting, classified by operated and non-operated assets, in compliance with competition and confidentiality requirements;

(e)    reporting of findings on major discrepancies between data sources.

2. The Commission may submit methane emissions data to the International Methane Emissions Observatory, as made available to it by the competent authorities in accordance with this Regulation.

3. The information produced by the International Methane Emissions Observatory shall be made available to the public and the Commission.


Chapter 3

Methane emissions in the oil and gas sectors

Article 11 - Scope

This Chapter applies to the activities referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 1(2).

Article 12 - Monitoring and reporting

1. By … [12 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], operators shall submit a report to the competent authorities containing source-level methane emissions estimated using generic but source-specific emission factors for all sources.

2. By … [24 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], operators shall also submit a report to the competent authorities containing direct measurements of source-level methane emissions for operated assets. Reporting at such level may involve the use of source-level measurement and sampling as the basis for establishing specific emission factors used for emissions estimation.

3. By … [36 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and by 30 March every year thereafter, operators shall submit a report to the competent authorities containing direct measurements of source-level methane emissions for operated assets referred to in paragraph 2, complemented by measurements of site-level methane emissions, thereby allowing assessment and verification of the source-level estimates aggregated by site.

Before submission to the competent authorities, operators shall ensure that the reports set out in this paragraph are assessed by a verifier and include a verification statement issued in accordance with Articles 8 and 9.

4. By … [36 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], undertakings established in the Union shall submit a report to the competent authorities containing direct measurements of source-level methane emissions for non-operated assets. Reporting at such level may involve the use of source-level measurement and sampling as the basis for establishing specific emission factors used for emissions estimation.

5. By … [48 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and by 30 March every year thereafter, undertakings established in the Union shall submit a report to the competent authorities containing direct measurements of source-level methane emissions for non-operated assets as set out in paragraph 4, complemented by measurements of site-level methane emissions, thereby allowing assessment and verification of the source-level estimates aggregated by site.

Before submission to the competent authorities, undertakings shall ensure that the reports set out in this paragraph are assessed by a verifier and include a verification statement issued in accordance with Articles 8 and 9.

6. The reports provided for in this Article shall cover the last available calendar year period and include at least the following information:

(a) emission source type and location;

(b) data per detailed, individual, emission source type;

(c) detailed information on the quantification methodologies employed to measure methane emissions;

(d) all methane emissions for operated assets;

(e) share of ownership and methane emissions from non-operated assets multiplied by the share of ownership;

(f) a list of the entities with operational control of the non-operated assets.

The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, lay down a reporting template for the reports under paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 32(2).

7. For site-level measurements referred to in paragraphs 3 and 5, appropriate quantification technologies shall be used which can provide such measurements.

8. In the case of significant discrepancies between the emissions quantified using source-level methods and those resulting from site-level measurement, additional measurements shall be carried out within the same reporting period.

9. Methane emissions measurements for gas infrastructure shall be conducted according to appropriate European (CEN) or international (ISO) standards for methane emissions quantification.

10. Where information is kept confidential in accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council 43 , operators shall indicate in the report the type of information that has been withheld and the reason thereof.

11. The competent authorities shall make the reports set out in this Article available to the public and the Commission, within three months from submission by operators and in accordance with Article 5(4).

Article 13 - General mitigation obligation

Operators shall take all measures available to them to prevent and minimise methane emissions in their operations.

Article 14 - Leak detection and repair

1. By … [3 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], operators shall submit a leak detection and repair programme to the competent authorities which shall detail the contents of the surveys to be carried out in accordance with the requirements in this Article.

The competent authorities may require the operator to amend the programme taking into account the requirements of this Regulation.

2. By … [6 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], operators shall carry out a survey of all relevant components under their responsibility in accordance with the leak detection and repair programme referred in paragraph 1.

Thereafter, leak detection and repair surveys shall be repeated every three months.

3. In carrying out the surveys, operators shall use devices that allow detection of loss of methane from components of 500 parts per million or more.

4. Operators shall repair or replace all components found to be emitting 500 parts per million or more of methane.

The repair or replacement of the components referred to in the first subparagraph shall take place immediately after detection, or as soon as possible thereafter but no later than five days after detection, provided operators can demonstrate that safety or technical considerations do not allow immediate action and provided operators establish a repair and monitoring schedule.

Safety and technical considerations that do not allow immediate action, as referred to in the second subparagraph, shall be limited to taking into account safety to personnel and humans in proximity, environmental impacts, concentration of methane loss, accessibility to component, availability of replacement of the component. Environmental impact considerations may include instances whereby repair could lead to a higher level of methane emissions than in the absence of the repair.

Where a system shutdown is required before the repair or replacement can be undertaken, operators shall minimise the leak within one day of detection and shall repair the leak by the end of the next scheduled system shutdown or within a year, whichever is sooner.

5. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, operators shall survey components that were found to be emitting 500 parts per million or more of methane during any of the previous surveys as soon as possible after the repair carried out pursuant to paragraph 4, and no later than 15 days thereafter to ensure that the repair was successful.

Notwithstanding paragraph 2, operators shall survey components that were found to be emitting below 500 parts per million of methane, no later than three months after the emissions were detected, to check whether the size of loss of methane has changed.

Where a higher risk to safety or a higher risk of methane losses is identified, the competent authorities may recommend that surveys of the relevant components take place more frequently.

6. Without prejudice to the reporting obligations pursuant to paragraph 7, operators shall record all identified leaks, irrespective of their size, and shall continually survey them to ensure that they are repaired in accordance with paragraph 4.

Operators shall keep the record for at least ten years and shall provide that information to competent authorities upon their request.

7. Within one month after each survey, operators shall submit a report with the results of the survey and a repair and monitoring schedule to the competent authorities of the Member State where the relevant assets are located. The report shall include at least the elements set out in Annex I.

The competent authorities may require the operator to amend the report or the repair and monitoring schedule taking into account the requirements of this Regulation.

8. Operators may delegate any of the tasks set out in this Article. Delegated tasks shall not affect the responsibility of operators and shall not impact the effectiveness of supervision by the competent authorities.

9. Member States shall ensure that certification, accreditation schemes or equivalent qualification schemes, including suitable training programmes, are available for service providers with respect to the surveys.

Article 15 - Limits to venting and flaring

1. Venting shall be prohibited except in the circumstances provided for this Article. Routine flaring shall be prohibited.

2. Venting shall only be allowed in the following situations:

(a) in case of an emergency or malfunction; and

(b) where unavoidable and strictly necessary for the operation, repair, maintenance or testing of components or equipment and subject to the reporting obligations set out in Article 16.

3. Venting under point (b) of paragraph 2 shall include the following specific situations where venting cannot be completely eliminated:

(a) during normal operations of certain components, provided that the equipment meets all the specified equipment standards and it is properly maintained and regularly inspected to minimise methane losses;

(b) to unload or clean-up liquid holdup in a well to atmospheric pressure;

(c) during gauging or sampling a storage tank or other low-pressure vessel;

(d) during loading out liquids from a storage tank or other low-pressure vessel to a transport vehicle in compliance with applicable standards;

(e) during repair and maintenance, including blowing down and depressurizing equipment to perform repair and maintenance;

(f) during a bradenhead test;

(g) during a packer leakage test;

(h) during a production test lasting less than 24 hours;

(i) where methane does not meet the gathering pipeline specifications, provided the operator analyses methane samples twice per week to determine whether the specifications have been achieved and routes the methane into a gathering pipeline as soon as the pipeline specifications are met;

(j) during commissioning of pipelines, equipment or facilities, only for as long as necessary to purge introduced impurities from the pipeline or equipment;

(k) during pigging, blow-down to repair or purging a gathering pipeline for repair or maintenance, and only where the gas cannot be contained or redirected into an unaffected portion of the pipeline.

4. Where venting is allowed pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3, operators shall vent only where flaring is not technically feasible or risks endangering safety of operations or personnel. In such a situation, as part of the reporting obligations set out in Article 16, operators shall demonstrate to the competent authorities the necessity to opt for venting instead of flaring.

5. Flaring shall only be allowed where either re-injection, utilisation on-site or dispatch of the methane to a market are not feasible for reasons other than economic considerations. In such a situation, as part of the reporting obligations set out in Article 16, operators shall demonstrate to the competent authorities the necessity to opt for flaring instead of either re-injection, utilisation on-site or dispatch of the methane to a market.

Article 16 - Reporting of venting and flaring events

1. Operators shall notify the competent authorities of venting and flaring events:

(a) caused by an emergency or a malfunction;

(b) lasting a total of 8 hours or more within a 24 hour period from a single event.

The notification referred to in the first subparagraph shall be made without delay after the event and at the latest within 48 hours from the start of the event or the moment the operator became aware of it.

2. Operators shall submit to the competent authorities quarterly reports of all venting and flaring referred to in paragraph 1 and in Article 15 in accordance with the elements set out in Annex II.

3. The competent authorities shall make the reports set out in this Article available to the public and the Commission annually and in accordance with Article 5(4).

Article 17 - Requirements for flaring standards

1. Where a facility is built, replaced or refurbished, or where new flare stacks or other combustion devices are installed, operators shall install only combustion devices with an auto-igniter or continuous pilot and a complete destruction removal efficiency for hydrocarbons.

2. Operators shall ensure that all flare stacks or other combustion devices comply with the requirements of paragraph 1 by … [12 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation].

3. Operators shall conduct weekly inspections of flare stacks in accordance with the elements set out in Annex III.

Article 18 - Inactive wells

1. By … [12 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], Member States shall establish and make publicly available an inventory of all inactive wells on their territory or under their jurisdiction, including at least the elements set out in Annex IV.

 2.    By … [18 months of the date of entry into force of this Regulation], equipment for measurement of methane emissions shall be installed on all inactive wells.

3. Reports containing the measurements referred to in paragraph 2 shall be submitted to the competent authorities by … [24 months of the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and by 30 March every year thereafter and cover the last available calendar year. Before submission to the competent authorities, the reports set out in this paragraph shall be assessed by a verifier and include a verification statement issued in accordance with Articles 8 and 9.

4. The competent authorities shall make the reports set out in this Article available to the public and the Commission, within three months from submission by operators and in accordance with Article 5(4).

5. Member States shall be responsible for fulfilling the obligations laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3, except where a responsible party can be identified, in which case that party shall bear responsibility.

6. Member States shall develop and implement a mitigation plan to remediate, reclaim and permanently plug inactive wells located in their territory.  

Mitigation plans shall use the inventories referred to in paragraph 1 to determine priority for activities including:

   (a) remediating, reclaiming and permanently plugging wells;

   (b) reclaiming related access roads;

   (c) restoring land, water and habitat impacted by wells and the prior operations;

   (d) yearly checks to ensure plugged wells are no longer a source of methane emissions.


Chapter 4

Methane emissions in the coal sector

Section I

Monitoring and reporting in operating mines

Article 19 - Scope

1. This Section applies to operating underground and surface coal mines.

2. Methane emissions from operating underground coal mines include the following emissions:

(a)    methane emissions from all ventilation shafts in use by the mine operator;

(b)    methane emissions from drainage stations and from the methane drainage system, whether occurring as a result of intentional or unintentional venting, or incomplete combustion in flares;

(c)    methane emissions occurring during post-mining activities.

3. Methane emissions from operating surface coal mines include the following emissions:

(a)    methane emissions occurring at the coal mine during the mining process;

(b)    methane emissions occurring during post-mining activities.

Article 20 - Monitoring and reporting

1. For underground coal mines, mine operators shall perform continuous ventilation air methane emissions measurement and quantification on all exhaust ventilation shafts used by the mine operator, using apparatus with a methane concentration sensitivity threshold of at least 100 parts per million. They shall also take monthly sample-based measurements. 

2. Drainage stations operators shall perform continuous measurements of volumes of vented and flared methane, regardless of the reasons for such venting and flaring activity.

3. As regards surface coal mines, mine operators shall use deposit-specific coal mine methane emission factors to quantify emissions resulting from mining operations. Mine operators shall establish those emission factors on a quarterly basis, in accordance with appropriate scientific standards and take into account methane emissions from surrounding strata.

4. The measurements and quantification referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 shall be undertaken in accordance with an appropriate European or international standards.

As regards continuous measurements referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, where part of the measuring equipment is not operating for a period, readings taken during periods when the equipment was operating may be used to estimate data on a pro rata basis for the period that the equipment was not operating.

The equipment used for continuous measurements referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall operate for more than 90% of the period for which it is used to monitor an emission, excluding downtime taken for re-calibration.

5. Mine operators shall estimate coal post-mining emissions using coal post-mining emission factors, updated annually, based on deposit-specific coal samples and in accordance with appropriate scientific standards.

6. By… [12 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and by 30 March every year thereafter, mine operators and drainage station operators shall submit a report to the competent authorities containing yearly source-level methane emissions data in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

The report shall cover the last available calendar year period and include the elements set out in Part 1 of Annex V for operating underground coal mines, Part 2 of Annex V for operating surface coal mines and Part 3 of Annex V for drainage stations.

Before submission to the competent authorities, mine operators and drainage stations operators shall ensure that the reports set out in this paragraph are assessed by a verifier and include a verification statement issued in accordance with Articles 8 and 9.

7. The competent authorities shall make the reports set out in this Article available to the public and the Commission, within three months from submission by operators and in accordance with Article 5(4).


Section II

mitigation of methane emissions from operating underground coal mines

Article 21 - Scope

This Section applies to the methane emissions from underground coal mines referred to in Article 19(2).

Article 22 - Mitigation measures

1. Venting and flaring of methane from drainage stations shall be prohibited from [1 January 2025], except in the case of an emergency, a malfunction or where unavoidable and strictly necessary for maintenance. In such cases, drainage station operators shall vent only if flaring is not technically feasible or risks endangering safety of operations or personnel. In such a situation, as part of the reporting obligations set out in Article 23, drainage station operators shall demonstrate to the competent authorities the necessity to opt for venting instead of flaring.

2. Venting of methane through ventilation shafts in coal mines emitting more than 0.5 tonnes of methane/kilotonne of coal mined, other than coking coal mines, shall be prohibited from 1 January 2027.

3. By … [three years from the date of entry into force of this Regulation] the Commission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 31 to supplement this Regulation by setting out restrictions on venting methane from ventilation shafts for coking coal mines.

Article 23 - Reporting of venting and flaring events

1. From [1 January 2025], drainage station operators shall notify the competent authorities of all venting and flaring events:

(a) caused by an emergency or a malfunction,

(b) occurring unavoidably due to maintenance of the drainage system.

That notification shall be made without delay after the event and at the latest within 48 hours from the start of event or the moment the operator became aware of it, in accordance with the elements set out in Annex VI.

2. The competent authorities shall make the information submitted to them pursuant to this Article available to the public and the Commission annually and in accordance with Article 5(4).


Section III

methane emissions from closed and abandoned underground coal mines

Article 24 - Scope

This Section applies to the following methane emissions from abandoned and closed underground coal mines where coal production has been discontinued:

(a) methane emissions from all ventilation shafts which continue emitting methane;

(b) methane emissions from coal mining equipment, use of which has been discontinued;

(c) methane emissions from other well-defined point emission sources as outlined in Part 1 of Annex VII.

Article 25 - Monitoring and reporting

1. By … [12 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation] Member States shall set up and make publicly available an inventory of all closed coal mines and abandoned coal mines in their territory or under their jurisdiction, in accordance with the methodology and including at least the elements set out in Part 1 of Annex VII.

2. Methane concentration measurements shall be taken in accordance with appropriate scientific standards and at least on an hourly basis from all elements listed in part 1(vi) of Annex VII which were found to emit methane.

From … [18 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation], measurement equipment shall be installed on all elements listed in point (v) of Part 1 of Annex VII for closed coal mines and abandoned coal mines where operations have ceased since … [50 years prior to the date of entry into force of this Regulation].

The sensitivity threshold of the measurement equipment used for the measurements referred to in paragraph 2 shall be at least 10,000 parts per million.

The measurement equipment must operate for more than 90% of the period for which it is used to monitor the emissions, excluding downtime taken for re-calibration.

3. Reports containing estimates of yearly source-level methane emissions data shall be submitted to the competent authorities by … [24 months of the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and by 30 March every year thereafter.

The reports shall cover the last available calendar year and include the elements set out in Part 3 of Annex VII.

Before submission to the competent authorities, the reports set out in this paragraph shall be assessed by a verifier and include a verification statement issued in accordance with Articles 8 and 9.

4. Mine operators shall be responsible for the requirements referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 as regards closed mines. Member States shall be responsible for the requirements referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 as regards abandoned mines.

5. The competent authorities shall make the reports set out in this Article available to the public and the Commission, within three months from submission by operators and in accordance with Article 5(4).

Article 26 - Mitigation measures

1. On the basis of the inventory referred to in Article 25, Member States shall develop and implement a mitigation plan to address methane emissions from abandoned coal mines.

The mitigation plan shall be submitted to competent authorities by … [36 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation] and include at least the elements set out in Part 4 of Annex VII.

2. Venting and flaring from equipment referred to in Article 25(2) shall be prohibited from 1 January 2030, unless utilisation or mitigation is not technically feasible or risks endangering environmental safety or safety of operations or personnel. In such a situation, as part of the reporting obligations set out in Article 25, mine operators or Member States shall demonstrate the necessity to opt for venting or flaring instead of utilisation or mitigation.


Chapter 5

Methane emissions occurring outside the Union

Article 27 - Importer requirements

1. By … [9 months from the date of entry into force of the Regulation] and by 31 December every year thereafter, importers shall provide the information set out in Annex VIII to the competent authorities of the importing Member State.

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 31 to supplement this Regulation by amending or adding to the information to be provided by importers.

2. By … [12 months from the date of entry into force of the Regulation] and by 30 June every year thereafter, Member States shall submit to the Commission the information provided to them by importers.

The Commission shall make the information available in accordance with Article 28.

3. By 31 December 2025, or earlier if the Commission considers that sufficient evidence is available, the Commission shall examine the application of this Article, considering in particular:

(a)    reporting of the available methane emissions data collected in the context of the global methane monitoring tool referred to in Article 29;

(b)    methane emission data analysis by the IMEO;

(c)    information on monitoring, reporting, verification and mitigation measures of operators located outside of the Union and from whom energy is imported into the Union; and

(d)    security of supply and the level playing field implications in case of possible additional obligations, including mandatory measures such as methane emission standards or targets, taking into account the oil, gas and coal sectors separately.

Where appropriate and based on the necessary evidence to secure full compliance with the applicable international obligations of the Union, the Commission shall propose amendments to this Regulation to strengthen the requirements applicable to importers with the view to ensure a comparable level of effectiveness with respect to measurement, reporting and verification and mitigation of energy sector methane emissions.

Article 28 - Methane transparency database

1. By … [18 months after the date of entry into force of the Regulation] the Commission shall establish and maintain a methane transparency database containing the information submitted to it pursuant to Article 27 and Articles 12(11), 16(3), 18(4), 20(7), 23(2) and 25(5).

2. In addition to the information referred to in paragraph 1, the database shall include the following information:

(a)    a list of countries where fossil energy is produced and exported to the Union;

(b)    for each country referred in point (a) information about the following points: 

(i) whether it has mandatory regulatory measures in place on energy sector methane emissions, covering the elements set out in this Regulation regarding measurement, reporting and verification and mitigation of energy sector methane emissions;

(ii) whether it has signed the Paris Agreement on climate change;

(iii) whether it is delivering national inventories in accordance with the requirements of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, where applicable;

(iv) whether the national inventories submitted pursuant to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change include tier 3 reporting of energy methane emissions, where applicable;

(v) the amount of energy sector methane emissions according to the national inventories submitted pursuant to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, where applicable, and whether the data was subject to independent verification.

(vi) the list of companies exporting fossil energy into the Union

(vii) a list of importers of fossil energy into the Union

2. The transparency database shall be available to the public online, free of charge and at least in English.

3. This Article shall apply without prejudice to the provisions of Directive (EU) 2016/943.

Article 29 - Methane emitters global monitoring tool

1. By … [two years after the date of entry into force of the Regulation], the Commission shall establish a global methane monitoring tool based on satellite data and input from several certified data providers and services, including the Copernicus component of the EU Space Programme.

The tool shall be made available to the public and provide regular updates at least on the magnitude, recurrence and location of high methane-emitting sources of energy.

2. The tool shall inform the Commission’s bilateral dialogues with respect to methane emissions policies and measures. Where the tool identifies a new major emission source, the Commission shall alert the relevant country with a view to promoting awareness and remedial actions.

3. This Article shall be subject to the provisions of Directive (EU) 2016/943.


Chapter 6

Final provisions

Article 30 - Penalties

1. Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented.

2. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive and may include:

(a)    fines proportionate to the environmental damage, calculating the level of such fines in such way as to make sure that they effectively deprive those responsible of the economic benefits derived from their infringements and gradually increasing the level of such fines for repeated serious infringements;

(b)    periodic penalty payments to compel operators to put an end to an infringement, comply with a decision ordering remedial actions or corrective measures, supply information or submit to an inspection, as applicable.

Member States shall notify the rules on penalties to the Commission by [3 months from the date of entry into force of the Regulation]. In addition, Member States shall notify any subsequent amendment affecting such rules to the Commission without delay.

3. At least the following infringements shall be subject to penalties:

(a)     failure of operators or mine operators to provide the competent authorities or the verifiers with the assistance necessary to enable or facilitate the performance of their tasks in accordance with this Regulation;

(b)    failure of operators or mine operators to carry out the actions set out in the inspections report referred to in Article 6;

(c)    failure of operators of mine operators to submit the methane emissions reports as required by this Regulation, including the verification statement issued by independent verifiers in accordance with Articles 8 and 9;

(d)    failure of operators to carry out a leak detection and repair survey in accordance with Article 14;

(e)    failure of operators to repair or replace components, to continuous survey components and to record leaks in accordance with Article 14;

(f)    failure of operators to submit a report in accordance with Article 14;

(g)    venting or flaring by operators or mine operators beyond the situations provided for in Articles 15, 22 and 26, as applicable;

(h)    routine flaring by operators;

(i)    failure of operators or mine operators to demonstrate the necessity to opt for venting instead of flaring and to demonstrate the necessity to opt for flaring instead of either re-injection, utilisation on-site or dispatch of the methane to a market, in the case of operators, or utilisation or mitigation, in the case of mine operators, in accordance with Articles 15, 22 and 26;

(j)    failure of operators or mine operators to notify or report on venting and flaring events in accordance with Articles 16, 23 and 26, as applicable;

(k)    use of flare stacks or combustion devices in breach of the requirements laid down in Article 17;

(l)    failure of importers to provide the information required in accordance with Article 27 and Annex VIII.

4. Member States shall take into account at least the following indicative criteria for the imposition of penalties, as appropriate:

(a)    the duration or temporal effects, the nature and the gravity of the infringement;

(b)    any action taken by the undertaking, operator or mine operator to timely mitigate or remedy the damage;

(c)    the intentional or negligent character of the infringement;

(d)    any previous infringements by the undertaking, operator or mine operator;

(e)    the financial benefits gained or losses avoided directly or indirectly by the undertaking, operator or mine operator due to the infringement, if the relevant data are available;

(f)    the size of the undertaking, operator or mine operator;

(g)    the degree of cooperation with the authority;

(h)    the manner in which the infringement became known to the authority, in particular whether, and if so to what extent, the operator timely notified the infringement;

(i)    any other aggravating or mitigating factor applicable to the circumstances of the case.

5. Member States shall publish annually information on the type and the size of the penalties imposed under this Regulation, the infringements and the operators upon which penalties have been imposed.

Article 31 - Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article. 

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 8(5), 22(3) and 27(1) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from … [date of entry into force of the Regulation].

3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 8(5), 22(3) and 27(1) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016.

5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 8(5), 22(3) and 27(1) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 32 - Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Energy Union Committee established by Article 44 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.   

Article 33 - Review

1. Every five years the Commission shall submit a report on the evaluation of this Regulation to the European Parliament and to the Council and shall, if appropriate, submit legislative proposals to amend this Regulation. The reports shall be made public.

2. For the purpose of this Article, the Commission may request information from Member States and competent authorities and shall take into account notably the information provided by Member States in their integrated National Energy and Climate Plans, updates thereof and in their National Energy and Climate progress reports pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

Article 34 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2019/942

In Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2019/942 of the European Parliament and of the Council the following paragraph 5 is added:

“5. Every three years ACER shall establish and make publicly available a set of indicators and corresponding reference values for the comparison of unit investment costs linked to measurement, reporting and abatement of methane emissions for comparable projects. It shall issue recommendations on indicators and reference values for unit investment costs for complying with the obligations under [this Regulation] pursuant to Article 3 of [this Regulation]”.

Article 35 - Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.