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The European Union’s Methane Regulation establishes new transparency, monitoring, and performance requirements for oil and gas produced within — and increasingly imported into — the EU market. Beginning in 2026, expanded monitoring and mitigation obligations apply, with phased import-related requirements ramping through 2027 and a methane-intensity performance threshold expected by 2030.

Industry participants have cautioned that these standards may materially affect global crude flows. ExxonMobil has publicly warned that EU methane emission regulations could increase crude oil import costs by up to 13%, underscoring that methane performance is becoming a commercial variable — not simply an ESG disclosure metric.

These developments elevate unmanaged methane emissions from an environmental concern to a supply-chain and market-access risk.

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Inset-Based Structural Mitigation

Theaus CH₄ accelerates permanent plugging and abandonment of marginal and inactive wells — eliminating methane emissions at the source. Rather than functioning as generic offsets, verified methane-abatement credits can be structured as supply-chain insets: emissions eliminated within or directly linked to upstream production portfolios.

This portfolio-based approach enables producers and exporters to:

• Reduce structural methane exposure

• Demonstrate measurable supply-chain mitigation

• Strengthen methane-intensity narratives under tightening import frameworks

• Hedge regulatory and commercial risk

Serialized issuance through internationally recognized, ICROA-aligned registries, supported by independent ISO-based validation and verification, ensures transparency, traceability, and institutional-grade assurance.

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A Portfolio Hedge Against Regulatory Tightening

While credits do not substitute for regulatory compliance, structural methane elimination provides a forward-aligned hedge against evolving methane intensity thresholds and transparency requirements.

For producers, traders, and capital providers with exposure to European markets, accelerated methane elimination:

• Strengthens supply-chain positioning

• Reduces long-term environmental liability

• Enhances institutional credibility

• Mitigates future compliance and market-access risk

As global methane regulation converges toward higher performance standards, permanent source elimination offers durable risk reduction — not temporary balancing.

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