Congressional Democrats plan to introduce legislation this week aimed at raising the profile for cleanup of abandoned oil and gas infrastructure off the nation’s coastlines.
The bill would require the Interior Department — which overseas oil and gas activities in federal waters — to produce an annual report on decommissioning applications, wells and platforms that have missed cleanup deadlines, and the status of enforcement actions.
The “Plug Offshore Wells Act” follows recommendations made in a 2024 Government Accountability Office report, which found that more than 2,700 wells and 500 platforms in the Gulf have of Mexico have missed cleanup deadlines.
“Big Oil’s failure to decommission thousands of abandoned offshore oil and gas wells is inexcusable,” sponsor Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said in a statement. “It’s not only costly to taxpayers, but harmful to our environment. … We need to hold oil companies accountable on their promises to decommission abandoned offshore infrastructure to save taxpayer dollars and help protect our marine ecosystems.”
