A massive natural gas leak in southern California that has forced thousands of residents from their homes is giving momentum to the Obama administration’s plan to clamp down on methane emissions from oil and natural gas wells. The proposal, set to be unveiled by the Interior Department within days, takes aim at wells on federal and tribal lands, with the goal of plugging unintentional methane leaks at the sites and stopping energy companies from intentionally flaring or venting the gas. The Interior initiative will be the first federal regulation of methane emissions from existing wells. Industry executives say it’s an unnecessary burden at a time of plummeting crude prices that are forcing oil companies to pare workers and go into bankruptcy. Although it wouldn’t directly affect the spill at the Aliso Canyon storage field that has spewed gas into the atmosphere since October, some lawmakers and conservationists say the […]