Office of Oil and Gas Management

Methane Emission Reduction Program (MERP)

Through the Methane Emissions Reduction Program(opens in a new tab), the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are partnering to provide up to $1.36 billion in financial and technical assistance through an interagency agreement with PA DEP to improve methane monitoring and reduce methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and natural gas sector.

The 2024 MERP grant application closed on December 16^th 2024. The next opening will be in the Fall of 2025. An opening date will be posted here once finalized.

In response to the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which provides new authorities under Section 136 of the Clean Air Act to reduce methane emissions from the petroleum and natural gas sector, DEP has created a Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP) Grant that provides funding to an applicant to plug an eligible Marginal Conventional Well (MCW).

A Marginal Conventional Well (MCW) is defined as a conventional oil and/or gas well that produces less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE, i.e. 15bbl/day oil or 90,000 cubic feet (90 mcf) of gas/day or combination thereof).

The MERP grant provides up to:

$420,000 for any single applicant within each application period.
$20,000 for each eligible well plugged that is a marginal conventional well of a depth of 3,000 feet or less or the actual cost of the qualified well plugger to plug the well, whichever is less.
$35,000 for each eligible well plugged that is a marginal conventional well of a depth greater than 3,000 feet or the actual cost of the qualified well plugger to plug the well, whichever is less.
An eligible applicant who plugs all eligible wells approved to plug as part of the application submitted to the Department, may plug additional eligible wells with prior Department approval up to the maximum grant approved as part of the application.

Applicants:

Operator of wells - An Operator, as defined in Act 359, Oil and Gas Conservation Law, owning oil and gas wells that have not been previously plugged in accordance with the requirements of section 3220 (58 Pa.C.S. §3220, relating to plugging requirements) prior to Department approval of an applicant’s application.

Qualified Well Plugger - A person shall be determined as a qualified well plugger if the person demonstrates access to the equipment, materials, resources, and services to plug wells in accordance with section 3220 (58 Pa.C.S. §3220, relating to plugging requirements).

Third Party - An applicant shall be determined as a third-party if they are neither a Qualified Well Plugger or Operator and serve only as a Project Manager for more than 1 Qualified Well Plugger.

When applying, please note that there are two separate categories under MERP depending on the amount of wells the operator owns. Please apply to the appropriate grant category that is applicable to the operator:

MERP Small Operator Assistance

An Operator of 10 or less wells, a Qualified Well Plugger, or a Third Party may apply.

MERP Small Operator Assistance Grant program guidelines(opens in a new tab) (PDF)

MERP General Assistance

An Operator of 11 or more wells, a Qualified Well Plugger, or a Third Party may apply.

MERP General Assistance Grant program guidelines(opens in a new tab) (PDF)

Marginal Conventional Wells: A marginal conventional well (MCW) is defined as a conventional oil and/or gas well that produces less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE, i.e. 15bbl/day oil or 90,000 cubic feet (90 mcf) of gas/day or combination thereof).

To be eligible for this funding, an operator must be in compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, including those related to the submission of well production, waste, and mechanical integrity assessment reports to DEP. Additionally, failure to submit these reports subject operators to enforcement by DEP which includes civil penalty. If you are interested in obtaining this funding and are currently not in compliance with these requirements, you should submit this information to DEP as soon as possible.

Operators can find information regarding the production, waste, and mechanical integrity assessment report submission process and requirements on DEP’s website (Electronic Submission Guides). Home use well operators can satisfy all three reporting requirements through the submission of a single form for each well (8000-FM-OOGM0001(opens in a new tab)).

The Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP) General Assistance and Small Operator Assistance grant applications open on October 16th, 2024, at 9:00 am EST and will close on December 16th, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST. The online applications are located at https://grants.pa.gov/(opens in a new tab).

Grant Application instructions

MERP - General Assistance Applicant Instructions(opens in a new tab) (DOCX)
MERP - Small Operator Applicant Instructions(opens in a new tab) (DOCX)

Questions: Should you have any specific questions about this grant program, please contact the Department via e-mail at RA-EPMERPGRANT@pa.gov

The Well Plugging and Restoration Agreement form (see grant documents below) serves as a landowner consent form. Prior to completing the grant application, if the applicant is not the landowner, this form needs to be completed so that it can be uploaded into the grant application.

To ensure you have required documents and requirements ready, please refer to the MERP Checklist(opens in a new tab)

Click here to watch the MERP Well Plugging Grant Application On-Demand Webinar(opens in a new tab)

Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation from the webinar(opens in a new tab)

Before beginning the application, identification if methane emissions are detected at each eligible well as described in the MERP Grant application needs to be prepared (“Not Detected" or “Detected" or “Detected + may be high")

For wells where the initial methane detection screening indicated “detected" or “detected; may be high," grant recipients are required to measure pre-plugging and post-plugging emissions. All measurements must be taken in accordance with the most recent federal methane measurement guidelines. To ensure compliance with these guidelines, two forms are required: the Methane Measurement Proposal form and the Methane Measurement Report form.

DOE NETL METHANE MEASUREMENT GUIDELINES FOR MARGINAL CONVENTIONAL WELLS(opens in a new tab) (PDF)

PA DEP's Supplemental Methane Measurement Guidelines for Marginal Conventional Wells(opens in a new tab) (PDF)

The Methane Measurement Proposal Form must be submitted and reviewed prior to obtaining methane measurements. This form is used to document the methodology being used in addition to information about the qualified measurement specialist and qualifications.

The second form is the Methane Measurement Report Form. This form is used to report the information obtained to the Department.

More information can be found on the Methane Measurement page.

MERP Well Completion Worksheet(opens in a new tab) (XLSX)

Application for Reimbursement and Itemized Expenses(opens in a new tab) (XLSX)

MERP Well Plugging and Restoration Access Agreement(opens in a new tab) (DOCX)

Methane Measurement Service Provider Form(opens in a new tab) (XLSX)

Methane Measurement Report Form(opens in a new tab) (XLSX)

The federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides new authorities under Section 136 of the Clean Air Act to reduce methane emissions from the petroleum and natural gas sector through the creation of the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP). Nationwide, MERP will provide more than $1 billion in financial funding for grants and other activities to reduce methane.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will be receiving more than $44 million of this funding. Part of Pennsylvania’s funding will be used to provide grants to conventional well operators to plug marginal conventional wells in their inventory.

DEP's goal in the MERP application prioritization process is to ensure that MERP grant funds are efficiently used to maximize methane reduction and benefits to human health and the environment. This MERP Prioritization Process(opens in a new tab) document outlines how MCWs will be scored and ranked to prioritize MERP applications.

Methane Emissions Reduction Program | netl.doe.gov(opens in a new tab)

Executive Order on the Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022(opens in a new tab)

Mechanical Integrity Assessment: MIA reports, submission of well data, and MIA for home use wells

Home use gas wells: regulatory and operating requirements for home use wells

FAQs for prospective plugging and plugging support contractors(opens in a new tab) (PDF)

View our interactive map showing abandoned, orphan, and DEP plugged wells(opens in a new tab)

Oil and Gas Annual Reports

Included in DEP’s marginal conventional well plugging goals is meeting the US Department of Interior’s directives to comply with the Federal government’s Justice 40 initiative for Climate and Economic Justice(opens in a new tab).

The Justice 40 Initiative set forth in Executive Order 14008 of January 27, 2021 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad) can be found here: Federal Register: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad(opens in a new tab)

JUSTICE 40 PEOPLE. POWER. PROSPERITY(opens in a new tab)

Office of Environmental Justice(opens in a new tab)

DEP Abandoned and Orphan Wells within Justice40 and Environmental Justice Areas(opens in a new tab) (PDF)

DEP Orphan Wells within Justice40 and Environmental Justice Areas(opens in a new tab) (PDF)

For any inquiries or questions about MERP, please feel free to reach out via email at RA-epOilandGas@pa.gov

Important notice to Pennsylvania oil and gas well operators regarding the Methane Emissions Reduction Program(opens in a new tab) (PDF)