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US reveals record oil and gas pollution charge against Marathon Oil

U.S. officials on Thursday revealed a $241 million settlement with Marathon Oil over alleged air pollution infractions at dozens of the company's oil and gas centers on a North Dakota Indian reservation, stating it was part of an ongoing crackdown.

The settlement includes a record charge and environmental devices upgrades. President Joe Biden's administration has ratcheted up enforcement in the oil and gas sector to combat environment change and to counter pollution, particularly in poor and minority communities.

The Marathon settlement represents an excellent advance in our efforts to address environment modification through enforcement action, Todd Kim, assistant chief law officer with the Department of Justice's environment and natural resources division, stated in an interview.

The offer applies to years of supposed extreme unpredictable organic substance and methane emissions from wells, piping and tank on the Fort Berthold Indian Booking, home of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, at the center of the huge Bakken oil development.

It is the administration's 12th targeting oil and gas sector emissions, however by far its biggest.

This settlement is historical, and it is a video game changer, Kim stated.

Under the deal, Marathon will pay a $64.5 million charge, the largest ever for violations of the Clean Air Act from fixed sources, according to the Environmental management Agency and the Department of Justice, which collectively filed the settlement in federal court in North Dakota on Thursday.

That charge is more than double the combined overall of the administration's 11 previous oil and gas Clean Air Act settlements, authorities stated.

Still, it is dwarfed by Marathon's revenues, which were $ 1.55 billion last year.

The business will likewise invest an approximated $177 million to bring its centers into compliance with the law. That work will slash 2.25 million tons of co2 emissions over the next 5 years, about the equivalent of removing 487,000 cars off the road for a year.

The settlement goes through a 30-day public remark duration before it can be settled.

The federal government's grievance alleged that Marathon, which is being obtained by ConocoPhillips in a $22.5 billion deal that has yet to be settled, stopped working to obtain necessary licenses for its centers.

Marathon did not right away react to a request for comment.

The stepped-up enforcement effort is in line with Biden's. objective to reduce emissions of methane, a potent global warming gas. that leakages from drill sites and pipelines, and with the vow to. take on contamination from oil and gas operations near poor. communities.

An agent for the MHA Country did not immediately. respond to an ask for comment.

(source: Reuters)