A proposed rule by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to increase bonding requirements, royalty rates and minimum bids for natural gas and oil producers was met with criticism from the industry. 

The draft rule would increase economic returns for the country while ensuring oil and natural gas companies are environmentally responsible while operating on federal land, federal officials said. 

“This proposal to update BLM’s oil and gas program aims to ensure fairness to the taxpayer and balanced, responsible development as we continue to transition to a clean energy economy,” BLM director Tracy Stone-Manning said. “It includes common sense and needed fiscal revisions to BLM’s program, many directed by Congress.” 

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