Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The Biden administration told Congress just last summer that there are only 37 orphaned wells on BLM lands, and they have called in bonds only four times per year over the last decade. This number is low because the BLM has a process for dealing with at-risk wells. There are very few, if any, Federal leases that don't have multiple companies with multiple record title interests and working interests. Multiple companies may have equities in the leases and will sell those equities to other companies that want to develop at different depths, for example. BLM maintains the full chain of ownership. If BLM identifies a well on a lease at risk for abandonment, the agency will go to the companies in that chain of ownership and require them to take care of the well. Increasing bonds at these levels will also have a disproportionate impact on the small producers and the small businesses and therefore could actually result in more bankruptcies and thus more orphaned wells. Crushing small businesses and limiting production on Federal lands, which is what this regulation would do, would simply reduce production, driving up prices for American families and driving down revenues paid to the States and the Federal Government. Federal onshore oil and gas production brought in roughly $7.7 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2023 alone. That is almost six times more than the BLM's entire fiscal year budget.…”