Summary#
The Plug Offshore Wells Act is a proposed new law, not an amendment to an existing Act. It would require the Interior Secretary to report each year on offshore oil and gas well, platform and pipeline decommissioning; its stated purpose is to make this information available to Congress and the public. The bill is in progress and is not law.
- Starting no later than two years after enactment, the Secretary must report to Congress and post the report on the Interior Department website each year. Each report must cover the preceding calendar year.
- The report must compare the number of decommissioning applications required with the number received, and count wells, platforms and pipelines not decommissioned by their required dates.
- It must report the number of wells and platforms approved for decommissioning in place, and the lengths of pipelines decommissioned in place and removed.
- It must describe the status of Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement actions, including notices of incident of noncompliance, orders, citations, civil penalties and disqualifications from future offshore operations.
- The bill does not itself require wells, platforms or pipelines to be decommissioned, or change the referenced decommissioning rules or enforcement powers.
What it means for you#
- Public and Congress: You would be able to access the required annual report on the Interior Department website. The bill does not require explanations of individual cases.
- Interior Department: The Secretary must prepare and submit the reports. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s decommissioning enforcement actions must be covered.
- Offshore oil and gas operators: The bill does not directly add an application, cleanup or payment requirement for operators. It requires reporting on applications and enforcement under the referenced rules.
Money#
No cost information is in the available material.
- Interior would have to produce the reports, but the bill provides no cost estimate, staffing level or funding amount.
- The bill does not set a new fee, fine or penalty.
What is unclear#
- The bill does not say how much detail the reports must give about particular applications, overdue decommissioning or enforcement actions.
- It does not require explanations of why decommissioning deadlines were missed or what is being done about them.
- The bill does not specify how the Secretary should count or present the information, or how data gaps should be handled.
- No funding, staffing or start date beyond the first report’s deadline is specified.
Case for#
- A possible argument for the bill is that Congress and the public need regular information to track whether offshore decommissioning is happening on time.
- Reporting both required and received applications could show whether there is a gap between applications expected and applications submitted.
- Reporting overdue work alongside enforcement status could help readers assess how the government is responding to missed deadlines.
Case against#
- The bill requires disclosure, but does not itself make operators decommission overdue wells, platforms or pipelines.
- Counts and status updates may not explain why work is late, the risks involved or what action will resolve the delay.
- The bill does not specify reporting detail or provide funding, so the usefulness and cost of the reports are unclear.