The Bureau of Land Management is proposing to make it easier for oil and gas developers to mix together fossil fuels extracted from different leases or reservoirs — and cut down on the equipment they need to use.
Current guidelines at BLM, which is part of the Interior Department, allow commingling only when ownership of underground mineral rights is the same. The proposed changes would allow operators to combine oil and gas extracted from federal, state or private land and measure it at one location.
“By modernizing these regulations, we can produce energy more efficiently, protect taxpayer and tribal royalties, and reduce surface disturbance, all while advancing the Trump administration’s priority to strengthen domestic energy and streamline government,” acting BLM Director Bill Groffy said in a statement Thursday.
Interior previewed the changes in July, when Secretary Doug Burgum said the alterations were about “catching up with today’s technology.”
