To require the Secretary of the Interior to annually submit to Congress, and make publicly available on a website, a report on decommissioning offshore oil and gas wells, platforms, and pipelines, and for other purposes.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would require the Secretary of the Interior — the head of the federal department that oversees public lands and natural resources — to produce a yearly report on the process of shutting down and removing old offshore oil and gas infrastructure. Specifically, the report would cover the decommissioning of offshore wells, platforms, and pipelines, which refers to the work of safely closing down these structures when they are no longer in use. The report would need to be submitted to Congress and posted on a publicly accessible website each year.

The bill is primarily aimed at increasing transparency around what happens to offshore oil and gas infrastructure at the end of its useful life. Decommissioning can be a costly and environmentally significant process, involving plugging old wells, removing large ocean platforms, and safely disposing of pipelines. By requiring regular public reporting, the bill would give lawmakers and ordinary citizens better insight into how this process is being managed, how much it costs, and whether it is being carried out responsibly.

This legislation would most directly affect the federal government, the oil and gas industry operating in offshore waters, and coastal communities near areas where decommissioning activity takes place. Environmental groups and researchers interested in ocean health may also find the publicly available data useful. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources, where it will be reviewed before any further action is taken.