On Tuesday 12 July, the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union sent Member States a new draft compromise (the second) on the proposed EU regulation to reduce methane (CH4) emissions from the energy sector.
The Czech document makes some changes to the French Presidency’s previous draft compromise (see EUROPE 12936/1).
While the original text put forward by the European Commission included an obligation for Member States to measure methane emissions from abandoned coal mines and to implement a mitigation plan for these emissions (see EUROPE 12840/13, 12854/12), Prague suggests limiting this obligation to closed and abandoned underground coal mines that have not been in operation for 50 years.
The Presidency also proposes to raise the methane emission threshold for the ban on venting (the release of unburned methane into the atmosphere) in coal mines from 2027.
This ban would thus concern the venting of methane through ventilation shafts in coal mines emitting more than 3 tonnes of methane/kilotonne of coal extracted, as opposed to 0.5 in the Commission’s text.
Regarding methane leaks in the oil and gas sector, the new draft compromise changes the methane emission limit above which operators would be required to repair or replace the components causing the leak. This limit would be increased from 500 parts per million (Commission proposal) to 3 kg/h or 4200 l/h at normal temperature and pressure.
The Czech paper also leaves more flexibility to Member States regarding a series of deadlines in the proposed regulation.
Prague proposes, for example, to extend from 3 to 6 months the deadline for operators, from the entry into force of the Regulation, to submit a leakage detection and repair programme detailing the content of the investigations to be carried out.
The time limit for these investigations of all relevant components would be extended from 6 to 12 months from the date of entry into force of the Regulation.
In addition, these regular surveys could be replaced by continuous monitoring systems, provided that the competent authorities approve their use as part of the leak detection and repair programme.
In addition, the Presidency suggests extending the interval between periodic inspections to check that operators of sites potentially prone to methane leaks comply with the requirements of the Regulation from 2 to 5 years.
See the draft compromise: https://aeur.eu/f/2n4 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)