By Matthew Daly
Adapted for radio by S. Baxter Clinton
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil and gas companies will have to pay more to drill on public lands and satisfy stronger requirements to clean up old or abandoned wells, according to a final rule issued March 12th by the Biden administration.
The Interior Department's rule raises royalty rates for oil drilling by more than one-third, to 16.67%, in accordance with the sweeping 2002 climate law approved by Congress. The previous rate of 12.5% paid by oil and gas companies for federal drilling rights had remained unchanged for a century. The federal rate was significantly lower than what many states and private landowners charge for drilling leases on state or private lands.
The new rule does not go so far as to prohibit new oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged and as Democratic President Joe Biden promised during the 2020 campaign. But officials said the proposal would lead to a more responsible leasing process that provides a better return to U.S. taxpayers.
The plan codifies provisions in the climate law, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as the 2021 infrastructure law and recommendations from an Interior Department report on oil and gas leasing issued in 2021.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said, “These are the most significant reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing program in decades, and they will cut wasteful speculation, increase returns for the public and protect taxpayers from being saddled with the costs of environmental cleanups.”
Haaland said, along with efforts to clean up so-called orphaned, or abandoned, wells, "these reforms will help safeguard the health of our public lands and nearby communities for generations to come.”
Haaland and other officials said the new rule provides a fair return to taxpayers and focuses oil and gas leasing in areas that are the most likely to be developed, especially those with existing infrastructure and high oil and gas potential.
