WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Katie Porter (D-CA-47) and Representative Timothy Kennedy (D-NY-26) introduced the Plug Offshore Wells Act (POW Act), a bill that would require the Secretary of Interior to report on the status of the cleanup of offshore oil and gas wells, platforms, and pipelines when they have reached the end of their useful life, a process known as decommissioning. Ocean Conservancy experts worked closely with Congressional offices to craft this bill. Andrew Hartsig, an expert on offshore oil and gas policy, and Senior Director of Ocean Conservancy’s Arctic Program, issued the following statement:

“With 18,000 miles of disused pipeline abandoned in U.S. waters alone, it’s obvious that the oil and gas industry is not going to clean up their mess on their own. We applaud Representative Porter and Representative Kennedy’s leadership in bringing much needed transparency to the issue of decommissioning, and urge more action to hold the oil and gas industry accountable.

“Thanks to the 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office, we can see all too clearly that oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico are cheating the system when it comes to decommissioning infrastructure when it’s no longer needed or a lease is expired, posing a serious risk to the environment and wildlife, and to taxpayers, if the government is forced to step in.

“This risk was on full display this past weekend, when an oil spill was discovered coming from an abandoned offshore drilling platform shortly after Hurricane Beryl rattled the Gulf of Mexico. This is a prime example of the dangers of aging infrastructure competing against intensifying weather patterns. Proper decommissioning could have prevented this spill.

“The oil and gas industry is counting on a lack of public awareness of this problem, and knows that the Department of Interior has minimal tools to hold them accountable.The Plug Offshore Wells Act will push the Department of the Interior to ensure these operators responsibly decommission offshore infrastructure by requiring an annual, public report on the status of the wells, platforms, and pipelines that need decommissioning.

“We urge Congress to pass this commonsense legislation and hope it triggers additional changes that can strengthen enforcement as the need for offshore decommissioning accelerates with the clean energy transition.”

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