The U.S. offshore oil and natural gas industry, from unmanned platforms to massive production facilities, is facing higher federal financial assurance rules to cover the cost of decommissioning a well or infrastructure.

Under a proposal by the Biden administration, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said the proposed rule would “modernize financial assurance requirements…to better protect American taxpayers from incurring the costs associated with the oil and gas industry’s responsibility to decommission offshore wells and infrastructure, once they are no longer in use.”

Nearly all domestic offshore oil and gas infrastructure is in the Gulf of Mexico. The public comment period is run through Aug. 28.

[Actionable Insight: Did you know that NGI is one of only...