For decades, coastal communities, marine life, and taxpayers have been paying the price for the wells and drilling platforms that Big Oil leaves behind in our ocean. A new rule from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) takes the first step towards addressing idle and abandoned infrastructure by increasing financial assurance requirements for the offshore oil and gas industry. BOEM’s rule will raise an estimated $6.9 billion from oil and gas companies, which will help protect taxpayers from footing the bill to clean up offshore wells and platforms that industry leaves behind.
Although oil and gas lessees currently commit to plugging wells and decommissioning platforms within one year after the end of their lease or when facilities are no longer useful for operations, industry has routinely failed to meet these obligations on time—or at all. The Government…