The lawmakers’ bill would direct the Department of the Interior (DOI) to submit an annual, publicly available report to Congress on the status of decommissioning offshore oil and gas wells, platforms, and pipelines, in addition to reducing financial burdens on taxpayers by increasing oversight and accountability of Big Oil companies.
“Big Oil’s failure to decommission thousands of abandoned offshore oil and gas wells is inexcusable. It’s not only costly to taxpayers, but harmful to our environment. As climate change worsens and extreme weather events increase, the harmful consequences of idle and abandoned offshore oil and gas infrastructure only grows,” said Senator Welch. “We need to hold oil companies accountable on their promises to decommission abandoned offshore infrastructure to save taxpayer dollars and help protect our marine ecosystems.”
“Big Oil has been ditching its responsibilities while profiteering off of our natural resources in this country for too long,” said Senator Wyden. “At a time when oil companies are making record profits, it is not too much to ask that they use some of those profits to clean up many of the messes their profiteering has left behind.”
“Orphaned wells are an environmental catastrophe waiting to explode. They pose the possibility of massive damage to the ocean by leaking oil and gas, and must be addressed quickly,” said Senator Merkley.
“Big Oil consistently puts their profits over public safety—leaving taxpayers with the bill for plugging thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells and dealing with toxic pollution. Safely decommissioning abandoned offshore oil and gas infrastructure should be a no-brainer. We need public disclosures of the status of well decommissioning efforts to hold the industry accountable. Congress must work to stop oil companies from saddling everyday Americans with their cleanup costs instead of cleaning up their own messes,” said Senator Markey.
“Abandoned offshore oil and gas infrastructure is a growing threat to our oceans and coastal communities,” said Rep. Dexter. “For too long, oil companies have walked away from their responsibilities, leaving the public to foot the bill. This legislation brings transparency and accountability to a system that has let Big Oil off the hook, and it ensures we are protecting both our environment and taxpayer dollars. This bill brings transparency, saves taxpayers’ dollars, and helps us hold corporations accountable that disregard the health and safety of our people and our planet.”
In addition to Rep. Dexter, the bill is cosponsored in the House by Reps. Tim Kennedy (D-NY-26), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Dave Min (D-CA-47), Julia Brownley (D-CA-26), Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-DC-AL), Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15), and Mike Levin (D-CA-49).
Idle and abandoned offshore oil and gas infrastructure increase the chance of oil leaks and pose environmental risks to marine ecosystems, especially as hurricanes and tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico increase in strength and frequency. Current delays and defaults in decommissioning offshore oil and gas infrastructure also leave American taxpayers responsible for covering the costs of decommissioning abandoned platforms and wells, an expensive and lengthy process.
According to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), more than 2,700 wells and 500 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico are overdue for decommissioning. The Plug Offshore Wells Act would follow GAO’s recommended steps on how Congress can address the current backlog of overdue decommissioning requirements, including instituting new reporting requirements from DOI to Congress on the status of decommissioning.
The Plug Offshore Wells Act is supported by the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana, Ocean Conservancy, and the Surfrider Foundation.
Learn more about the Plug Offshore Wells Act of 2026.
Read and download the full text of the bill.
