Lawmakers on the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources introduced the Offshore Pipeline Safety Act, which would require BSEE to charge an annual fee against owners of offshore pipelines to fund pipeline removal if they file for bankruptcy, among other measures.

In the US, legal battles over company responsibility for cleanup costs have played out in bankruptcy courts, as companies look to profit by offloading billions of dollars in such costs to other oil and gas entities amid shifting political sands and the fates of fossil fuel industries. The company also is saddled with $107bn in debt, making it one of the most indebted oil companies in the world, as of 2019. The bureau – which was created in the wake of that catastrophe – “recognizes the importance of active pipeline integrity and is continually seeking to address the safety and environmental risks associated with decommissioning,” it said in a statement in response to the report. The report was released the day after the 11th anniversary of the BP oil disaster and explosion at the Deepwater Horizon platform that killed 11 people and spewed millions of gallons of crude into the gulf for weeks.

Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement that the report “shows how corporations profit from polluting our water and air, leaving the rest of us to pay the price.” “If these pipelines later pose safety or environmental risks, there’s no clear funding source for their removal.” The bureau does “not observe any pipeline decommissioning activities, inspect pipelines after their decommissioning, or verify most of the pipeline decommissioning evidence submitted,” according to the report.

Gulf of mexico fire