The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement extended the deadline for offshore oil and gas operators to coordinate their operations and retain their federal leases from 180 days a full year. The June 9 final rule extends the time allowed between production, drilling, or well-reworking on a lease, BSEE said.
BSEE made the move after President Donald J. Trump signed the 2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act into law on May 5, which required in its Section 121 that the rule be amended within 30 days.
The provision originally stated that a lease would expire if a lessee or operator ceased operations during the lease’s final 180 days or on a lease that has continued beyond its primary term unless the operator resumed operations or received a suspension of operations or suspension of production from BSEE’s regional supervisor within the final 180 days.
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