Worldoil.com is reporting that Biden’s unfair decommissioning rule will kill jobs, harm U.S. energy security, oil and gas trade groups say. They write:
The Gulf Energy Alliance (GEA) joined the States of Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi in a legal challenge to the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) decommissioning rule imposing unnecessary and burdensome financial requirements targeting independent offshore oil and natural gas producers.
The new regulation is a solution in search of a problem, imposing unnecessary financial burdens that will have far-reaching impacts to many small to mid-size energy producers and all Americans.
If implemented, the Biden administration’s regulation will put thousands of good-paying jobs at risk and reduce competition in the industry, investment in local communities, state and local tax revenues generated through offshore operations, and ultimately weaken U.S. energy security. […]
“To put it simply, this rule fixes a problem that does not exist,” said USOGA President Tim Stewart. “And in this case, the ‘solution’ will be devastating to independent producers, discourage new investment, and threaten our energy and natural security. Over the last 70 years, our members have made critical business decisions relying on the system of joint and several liability – a legal system well-established and well-known by all parties involved. The implications of this rule fundamentally change the basis upon which these business decisions were made, duplicates financial assurances already made by the industry and potentially puts taxpayers at greater risk. Importantly, the true cost of this rule extends far beyond a mere dollar figure. It puts well-paying jobs, federal revenues, community support and our national security at risk.”
Read more here.
