Federal Oil Well Bonds Won’t Cover Cleanup Costs, GAO Says (1)

Some oil and gas wells on federal land may be insufficiently bonded to cover reclamation costs, possibly leaving the Bureau of Land Management with a $46 million cleanup bill, the Government Accountability Office said.

About 84 percent of the bonds liked to oil and gas wells overseen by BLM are likely too low to reclaim the wells that the bonds cover, according to the Sept. 18 GAO report.

The BLM didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Sept. 18. The report was submitted to House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Alan ...