Cheap Bonds Said Not Enough to Reclaim Oil, NatGas Wells on Federal Lands

摘要

Bonds posted by oil and nat- ural gas producers to help prevent orphaned wells on federal lands are too low, with most not high enough to cover the costs of rec- lamation, according to a report by the U.S. Government Account- ability Ofce (GAO). GAO’s analysis issued last month found that 84% of the bonds held by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would fail to cover the costs of reclaiming the land if an owner were to abandon its wells. The fnding, GAO warned, could lead to higher costs for the agency as it would assume responsibility in such cases.