View over oil field in Bakersfileds. Photo courtesy of Los Padres ForestWatch.
Proposed rollback comes as BLM considers leasing 36,000 acres in California, including lands bordering Carrizo Plain National Monument. (Public comment due Aug. 24).
CENTRAL COAST — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing changes to federal oil and gas leasing regulations that would sharply reduce the financial assurances, or bonding, requirements for drilling companies and expand opportunities to lease public lands for development.
Under the proposal, the minimum bond for an individual federal oil and gas lease would fall from $150,000 to just $10,000. A statewide bond covering all of a company’s federal oil and gas operations could drop from $500,000 to $25,000.
These bonds are intended to help cover the cost of plugging wells and restoring drilling sites once operations cease. When cleanup costs exceed the bond and the operator cannot pay, taxpayers may be left responsible for the difference.
“Without question, oil companies should foot the bill for cleaning up their own mess,” said Los Padres ForestWatch Executive Director Jeff Kuyper. “Reducing them to levels established more than 60 years ago would virtually guarantee that the public is left holding the bill when drilling companies walk away. A $10,000 bond will not come close to restoring a damaged drilling site, but that is exactly the risk the administration is asking taxpayers to accept.”
California has documented more than 5,300 orphan, deserted, or potentially deserted oil and gas wells. According to the California Geologic Energy Management Division, plugging and abandoning a single well can cost anywhere from $25,000 to more than $1 million, depending on its location, depth, and complexity.The proposal would also require the federal government to offer more federal public land for oil leasing, reduce public review and comment opportunities, and allow unsold parcels to remain available for bargain-basement pricing for up to two years.
The rule change comes as BLM considers auctioning 50 oil and gas parcels covering approximately 36,000 acres in Kern, Kings, San Luis Obispo, and Fresno counties. Nearly 13,000 acres are located along the boundary of Carrizo Plain National Monument, with other parcels near communities, schools, and critical wildlife habitat.
Los Padres ForestWatch is urging BLM to maintain bonding requirements that reflect realistic cleanup costs and to carefully evaluate whether additional public lands should be offered for oil and gas development.
The public has until August 24, 2026, to comment on the proposed rule, and can submit a comment at forestwatch.org/act
About Los Padres ForestWatch
Los Padres ForestWatch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that protects wildlife, water, wilderness, and sustainable access throughout Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument through advocacy, education, and community engagement. Follow ForestWatch on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky. Learn more at forestwatch.org