The U.S. Department of the Interior wants to loot Louisiana of American jobs plugging wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
After a decade of job losses in oil services, and an explosion in orphan and idle wells, the Department of the Interior seeks to weaken requirements that require oil companies to ensure funds are available to plug wells after they are no longer in use. This proposal would result in fewer workers from Louisiana and Texas hired to plug and abandon the 10,000 broken oil wells in the Gulf.
It’s no secret that most of the oil wells are owned by companies foreign to Louisiana, and even the USA. The bankruptcy of oil and gas companies like Cox Operating, “historically weak” lease sales, and a decade of layoffs show that the oil industry will not reinvest any money they save due to this rule in the Gulf Coast.
Tell the Department of Interior to make sure oil companies have the money to plug their wells and clean up their spilled oil so they can keep Louisiana’s oil services workers employed to plug and abandon wells in the Gulf.
Submit comments before May 15th, 2026.