Texas to receive $1.4 million to plug abandoned GOM offshore wells

Aug. 6, 2009
The Texas General Land Office will receive a nearly $1.4 million grant to seal abandoned Gulf of Mexico oil and gas wells in state waters, US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced.

The Texas General Land Office will receive a nearly $1.4 million grant to seal abandoned Gulf of Mexico oil and gas wells in state waters, US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced.

The funding through the US Minerals Management Service’s Coastal Impact Assistance Program will plug abandoned wells in bays and offshore waters to eliminate potential pollution threats to natural resources on the Texas Gulf Coast, he said on Aug. 5.

The latest funding for Texas includes $48.6 million for each of fiscal years 2007 and 2008, and $35.6 million for 2009 and 2010, according to the US Department of the Interior. Eighteen coastal counties share in the funding of projects outlined in the state’s approved plan, it said.

CIAP was created under the 2005 Energy Policy Act, according to DOI. It said that through the program, MMS provides $250 million in grants annually to six eligible Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas producing states: Alabama, Alaska, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

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