On December 16, 2025, the Government of Canada finalized its enhanced methane regulations, requiring near-elimination of methane venting from upstream and midstream oil and gas operations. The final rules — published December 31 in the Canada Gazette, Part II — target a 72% reduction by 2030, slightly softer than the 75% originally proposed, giving provinces flexibility to achieve full 75% reductions by 2035 under the recently signed Canada-Alberta MOU.
Producers can choose between two compliance pathways: a prescriptive route prohibiting venting as of January 1, 2030, with defined inspection and repair requirements; or a performance-based route with intensity thresholds backed by robust monitoring.
Provinces will negotiate equivalency agreements — Alberta's by April 1, 2026, with B.C. and Saskatchewan to follow. Funding opportunities like ERA's Methane Reduction Deployment Program and offset generation reward early movers. Producers who start now secure supply chains, generate offsets longer, and avoid the 2030 retrofit bottleneck.
Read the full blog here.