IPAA concerned BLM rules regulating onshore oil and gas operations to increase costs
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) said this week that final rules regulating onshore oil and gas operations established by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will increase costs and threaten America’s supply of energy.
The trade association representing oil and natural gas producers said it was displeased that three BLM regulations are essentially going into effect at the exact same time.
“We believe the collective costs that these three regulations will impose on America’s small businesses and job-creators have not accurately been taken into consideration,” Dan Naatz, IPAA’s senior vice president of government relations and political affairs, said. “Releasing these final regulations all at once in the waning months of this administration’s term is both disingenuous and careless policymaking.”
While the IPAA said it sees the need to modernize some of these rules, the federal government’s rule making approach has been inherently prescriptive.
“It would lock in costly technologies that will likely become obsolete in a few short years, while the industry continues to advance and technology improves,” Naatz said. “The White House regulatory affairs office should immediately retract these three regulations, conduct further review on the inflexibility and the comprehensive costs of these rules, and collaborate with industry stakeholders in developing sensible, performance-based rules that are workable for both industry and government regulators.”
Independent producers are responsible for approximately 90 percent of the oil and natural gas wells drilled in the United States and support more than 200,000 jobs. Independent producers also pay approximately $10 billion to the U.S. Treasury every year in the form of royalties and other payments.
The IPAA said the additional regulations will make it more difficult for independent producers, often small businesses, to thrive. In addition, the BLM rules will negatively impact jobs, energy security and royalty revenues that independent producers are trying to create, the IPAA said.
