"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a program for oil and gas companies to make voluntary pledges to cut and track emissions of methane, one component of its wider strategy to target the potent greenhouse gas and combat climate change, the agency said Thursday.

The Natural Gas STAR Methane Challenge Program would require companies to make specific reduction pledges and submit data each year, expanding on a program that has been in place since 1993 by offering more transparent tracking and let companies make less specific pledges.

In January, the Obama administration said it wanted to reduce oil and gas industry methane emissions by up to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025 that seep out of new drilling equipment and from old and new production facilities through a mix of some regulation and voluntary measures."

Valerie Volcovici reports for Reuters July 23, 2015. [2]