Pending Legislation

S. 4239, Plug Offshore Wells Act 
S. 4715, Offshore Leasing Standards and Accountability Act of 2026

Statement for the Record
U.S. Department of the Interior

 Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining

 S. 4239, Plug Offshore Wells Act 
S. 4715, Offshore Leasing Standards and Accountability Act of 2026

July 15, 2026

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this Statement for the Record regarding S. 4239, the Plug Offshore Wells Act, and S. 4715, the Offshore Leasing Standards and Accountability Act of 2026.

S. 4239, Plug Offshore Wells Act

S. 4239 would establish new reporting requirements for the Department of the Interior (Department) regarding offshore decommissioning activities. Under the legislation, the Department would be required to submit an annual report to Congress detailing the status of decommissioning applications and status of enforcement actions.

The Department supports transparency regarding offshore operations. However, the Department already collects information identified in the legislation through existing regulatory and operational processes. The Department also currently maintains publicly available information concerning offshore facilities, permitting, inspections, enforcement actions, and decommissioning activities. S. 4239 would require the Department to duplicate information already maintained through existing programs, without providing a commensurate improvement in offshore safety or environmental protection. While the Department appreciates the goal of this bill, the desired outcomes are already met through existing programs and opportunities. For these reasons, the Department opposes S. 4239.

S. 4715, Offshore Leasing Standards and Accountability Act of 2026

The Department opposes S. 4715. S. 4715 would introduce rigid new financial and operational standards for entities seeking to acquire, extend, or transfer offshore leases, easements, or rights-of-way for oil and gas exploration, development, or production on the outer Continental Shelf. The bill would substantially revise the Department’s offshore leasing authorities by establishing new statutory “fitness to operate” certification requirements, mandating decommissioning escrow accounts for every lease, creating extensive new reporting requirements, limiting lease extensions and transfers, and imposing new restrictions on temporary abandonment of wells.

Financially capable and responsible operators are essential to safe offshore development and the Department currently has broad authority to evaluate operator qualifications, require financial assurance, oversee lease assignments and transfers, enforce regulatory compliance, require decommissioning, and pursue current and prior lessees under joint and several liability authorities when necessary. S. 4715 would replace the existing flexible, risk-based legal framework utilized by the Department with numerous rigid statutory requirements that could unnecessarily restrict the Department's ability to administer offshore energy programs efficiently. For example, the bill would require universal escrow accounts, prescribe detailed financial and operational qualification criteria, require recurring certifications and reports, and mandate specific regulatory approaches that reduce the Department’s discretion to adapt oversight to changing operational conditions, technological advances, and evolving financial risks.

The Department believes its existing statutory authorities, together with ongoing efforts to strengthen financial assurance and decommissioning oversight through program management, provide a more effective and adaptable framework for ensuring responsible offshore operations.