CASPER, Wyo.—The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has decided to abandon adopting rules for methane farming.
The commission made the decision Thursday in Casper after receiving guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and others.
The decision allows two Colorado companies to proceed with methane farming in Wyoming under existing oil and gas rules.
Methane farming involves encouraging coal-eating microbes that are naturally present in underground coal seams to multiply and produce methane gas. The technique is targeted at getting depleted coal-bed methane wells to resume producing small but steady volumes of natural gas.
Commission Supervisor Tom Doll tells the Casper Star-Tribune ( ) that the six-month process of drafting the rules, collecting public comment, reconsidering the rules and then killing them wasn’t a waste of time.
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Information from: Casper Star-Tribune – Casper,
