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States sue United States to block guideline that oil companies guarantee payment to take apart old wells

Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday sued the U.S. government to obstruct the Biden administration's proposed rule that would require the offshore oil and gas market to provide nearly $7 billion in financial assurances to cover expenses of dismantling old infrastructure.

The guideline, which would work later on this year, will primarily affect smaller sized companies that do not have financial investment grade scores or sufficient tested oil reserves. Oil majors are more likely to fulfill the credit criteria or have large reserves.

The lawsuit was submitted versus the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which has said the guideline might affect around three quarters of operators in the Gulf of Mexico.

The BOEM declined to comment on the claim. When the guideline was revealed in April, the Department of the Interior stated it was to secure taxpayers from covering expenses that ought to be borne by the oil and gas industry when offshore platforms need decommissioning.

Decommissioning old wells can cost billions of dollars and that cost could fall to taxpayers if business stop working to meet their commitments due to bankruptcies or the transfer of possessions from big to smaller companies with fewer resources.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill submitted the claim in a Louisiana federal district court and was signed up with by lawyer generals of Texas and Mississippi.

This is an actually egregious direct attack on intermediate level producers of oil and gas, and that affects a great deal of service in our state, Murrill told in an interview.

The new policy is a solution searching for an issue, enforcing unnecessary monetary problems that will have far-reaching impacts to many small to mid-size energy manufacturers and all Americans, said Kevin Bruce, executive director of the Gulf Alliance, a coalition of leading independent overseas oil and gas manufacturers joining the legal obstacle against the BOEM.

Some 37 overseas oil and gas operators have applied for personal bankruptcy given that 2009, according to a U.S. federal government firm.

This is a significant expense to our industry that would really put a great deal of people out of organization, said Mike Minarovic, CEO of Arena Energy, which operates more than 100 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico that produce some 50,000 barrels daily of oil comparable

The brand-new guideline could cost Arena Energy some $800-850 million in surety bonds, plus the expenses of the bonds themselves, Minarovic said, pointing out federal government quotes of decommissioning cost.

Minarovic pointed to an outflow of cash from surety markets in the past 5 years and stated securing the bonds needed to guarantee fiduciary and legal commitments will simply be a. requirement the federal government has that can not be fulfilled.

Since June 2023, more than 2,700 wells and 500 platforms. were past due for decommissioning in the Gulf of Mexico,. according to the U.S. Federal Government Accountability Workplace, pushing. the government to require operators use additional surety. bonds in a quote to secure taxpayers from bearing the cost.

The BOEM held around $3.5 billion in extra bonds to. cover in between $40 billion and $70 billion in overall approximated. decommissioning expenses.

Under the brand-new guideline, the BOEM will permit current lessees and. grant holders to demand phased-in payments over three years to. fulfill the brand-new extra financial guarantee demands required. by the rule.

It was unclear yet whether the ruling would pressure. offshore production. Minarovic said there could be shut ins if. companies are unable to offer the bonds in time.

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico produces roughly 1.8 million barrels. each day of oil, according to the last government figures, about. 14% of overall U.S. output.

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(source: Reuters)