Bureau of Land Management finalized new oil and gas leasing rule, raising minimum bonds, increasing royalty tax rates, and requiring cleanup cost coverage.

The Bureau of Land Management finalized its rule and update to oil and gas leasing on federal public lands, raising minimum bonds for leases, increasing royalty tax rates, and requiring companies to cover cleanup costs. The new rule aims to reduce wasteful speculation and protect taxpayers from environmental cleanup costs. However, the new bonding levels are unlikely to cover the cleanup cost of over 90,000 unplugged wells.

April 17, 2024
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