Industry calls for 15 targeted amendments to the EU Methane Regulation to safeguard energy security and preserve environmental ambition

Proposed amendments to the EU Methane Emissions Regulation

 

IOGP Europe, together with Energy Traders Europe, Eurogas and FuelsEurope, and 7 national energy associations, are today proposing a set of targeted adjustments to the EU Methane Regulation that are critical to ensure Europe’s energy security.

A recent study by Wood Mackenzie estimates that the EU Methane Emissions Regulation’s (EUMR) importer requirements may cause a significant share of EU oil and gas imports to become non-compliant, and hence risk being deterred from the EU market from 2027 onwards.[1]

To avoid a compliance-driven supply shock, industry calls for targeted amendments to the EUMR and a stop-the-clock.[2]

Today, 11 energy associations propose 15 key – albeit non-exhaustive – targeted adjustments to the EUMR.

 

Summary:

• Set a conditional, time-bound deferral of Articles 28 & 29 until essential secondary legislation, MRV standards, methodologies, and verification systems are in place, to provide all stakeholders (incl. verifiers) with sufficient time to develop and set up compliance options.
• Revise producer- and country-level MRV equivalency criteria to make compliance achievable whilst using credible, internationally recognised approaches (including OGMP 2.0 Levels 4–5 pathways), while preserving the EUMR’s ambition to drive high-quality emissions data and abatement.
• Allow third-party verification at a “limited assurance” level, reflecting current verifier capabilities and ensuring scalability across global supply chains.
• Allow the use of voluntary certification schemes for cases where importers cannot identify the producer of the imported quantities.
• Adjust penalty criteria to reflect the physical and commercial realities of crude oil and natural gas markets (e.g. molecule commingling, crude grade constraints), and the limitations of tracing volumes to producers.
• Introduce grandfathering provisions and clarify the treatment of secondary contracts to preserve legal certainty, market liquidity, and security of supply.
• Anchor the importer definition firmly in the Union Customs Code to ensure legal certainty, consistent enforcement across Member States, and clarity on responsibilities for EU- and non-EU-established entities.

“Our proposed adjustments to the EUMR’s importer requirements preserve the text’s ambition while introducing common sense and consistency. If the requirements are not aligned with operational and commercial realities fast, the EU will head towards a self-inflicted, regulatory supply gap in 2027,” says François-Régis Mouton de Lostalot, IOGP Europe Managing Director.

Download the full document here

Footnotes:

[1] Wood Mackenzie, March 2026, “EU Methane Emissions Regulation: Analysis of Market Impacts”, prepared for Concawe and IOGP Europe: https://iogpeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/EU-Methane-Emissions-Regulation-Study-1.pdf

[2] A stop-the-clock and targeted amendments to the EUMR were most recently called for in a cross-sectoral letter to the EU's 27 Energy Ministers from 70 companies and industry associations: https://iogpeurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Joint-Industry-Call-for-targeted-amendments-to-the-Methane-Emissions-Reduction-Regulation-2.pdf