Offshore Decommissioning Reporting Act

Summary#

The Plug Offshore Wells Act would create a new federal reporting requirement; it does not amend another Act. Its stated goal is to provide Congress and the public with annual information about offshore oil and gas decommissioning. The bill was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources; it is not law.

  • The Secretary of the Interior must send Congress and publish a report on the Department of the Interior’s website. The first report is due within two years after enactment; later reports are due annually.
  • Each report must cover the preceding calendar year and count required decommissioning applications, applications received, and wells, platforms, and pipelines not decommissioned by their required dates.
  • The report must also count wells and platforms approved for decommissioning in place, and report the length of pipelines decommissioned in place and pipelines removed.
  • It must describe the status of Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement actions, including notices of incidents of noncompliance, orders, citations, civil penalties, and disqualifications from future offshore operations.

What it means for you#

  • People and the public: You would be able to find the required reports on the Interior Department’s website. The bill does not create a new front-line service or give individuals a new right or benefit.
  • Congress: Congress would receive the same annual report.
  • Offshore oil and gas operators: The bill itself does not add new decommissioning, application, or penalty rules for operators. It requires reporting on applications and enforcement under the referenced regulations.
  • Interior Department and the enforcement bureau: Interior must prepare and publish the reports. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s decommissioning enforcement actions must be covered.

Money#

No publicly available information on the cost is included in the supplied material.

  • The reporting duty will require Interior staff to compile and publish information, but the bill specifies no staffing level or cost.
  • The bill specifies no separate appropriation, fee, fine, or funding source.

What is unclear#

  • The bill does not say how Interior must collect, check, or present the information, or whether reports must break data down in particular ways.
  • It does not specify how much detail “the status” of enforcement actions must include.
  • The bill defines “decommissioning” by reference to a federal regulation, or a successor regulation, but does not separately define “offshore.”
  • The first report is due within two years after enactment, but the bill does not give a specific calendar date because enactment has not occurred.
  • Whether the bill will pass is uncertain.

Case for#

  • A possible argument for the bill is that annual counts would let Congress and the public see how many applications were required and received, and how often decommissioning missed its required date.
  • Reporting pipeline lengths and approvals for decommissioning in place could make different decommissioning outcomes more visible.
  • Including enforcement actions could help readers assess how the enforcement bureau is responding to decommissioning issues.

Case against#

  • The bill requires reporting, but does not itself require wells, platforms, or pipelines to be decommissioned sooner or change enforcement powers.
  • The bill does not require explanations for late decommissioning, missed applications, or the outcomes of enforcement actions.
  • Without required reporting methods or detail, the bill leaves unclear how comparable or useful the reports would be from year to year.