BLM’s final leasing rule to “drive small producers off public lands,” oil and gas industry trade group criticizes
(WO) – Western Energy Alliance responded to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final fluid mineral leasing rule that will increase bonding amounts far beyond what the market will bear. The following statement is attributable to Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma:
“The BLM rule will drive small producers off public lands. The bonding amounts are excessive when there are just 37 orphan wells out of more than 90,000 wells on federal lands. Increasing bonding amounts 20-fold in order to take care of a problem on just .004% of wells is way out of proportion. This is another rule by the Biden Administration meant to deliver on the president's promise of no federal oil and natural gas. Western Energy Alliance has no other choice but to litigate this rule.”
