The European Union is weighing a one-year delay to its methane import rule, due to take effect in January, after major suppliers warned the regulation could worsen an already tight energy market. The U.S. and Qatar say emissions tracking and verification requirements are currently impractical, and in a worst case, non-compliant cargoes could divert elsewhere.
Brussels considers a one-year postponement
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said a delay to the import part of the methane legislation is under review, telling Bloomberg that his services have been instructed to look into postponing it by one year. The goal, he said, is to give market actors time to implement the natural gas rules without hurting supply security or prices. EU energy companies have already been subject to the same reporting duty since 2024; the new rule would extend it to foreign suppliers.
Suppliers call the rules unworkable
The United States and Qatar have repeatedly argued the regulation would hurt both supply security and prices, saying it is impossible to track and report methane emissions along the full supply chain of every hydrocarbon molecule sold to an EU buyer. Qatar has said it would stop selling LNG to EU members over the rule, and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has suggested it would hurt bilateral trade. Wood Mackenzie carbon expert Valentina Kretzschmar said most oil and gas exporting countries outside Europe are not ready to meet the EU's equivalence standard within the timeframe. According to Wood Mackenzie: "Verification is a critical part of the jigsaw, but it's currently missing." No agency is yet accredited to verify methane measurement and reporting outside the EU, and importers have said they are unwilling to accept non-compliance given the potential legal, commercial and reputational risks.
A tight market with little room for error
The uncertainty lands as fuel prices sit at record highs and gas prices trade above 70 euro per MWh.
Brussels has floated delaying penalties for violations, though that would not remove the reporting requirement itself. In a worst case, U.S. and other cargoes of crude and LNG could divert to Asia come January if suppliers have not counted their emissions. Producers currently have more buyers to choose from than the EU has suppliers, leaving Brussels with limited leverage to enforce compliance on its own terms.
Source: Oilprice.com
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