Biden-Harris Administration Awards Contract for Orphaned Pipeline Decommissioning in Gulf of Mexico

Project is partially funded by President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

WASHINGTON - As part of the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts to address legacy pollution, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has awarded a contract and the first task order for the decommissioning of eight orphaned pipelines in the Matagorda Island lease area, approximately 12 miles off the Texas coast. The project will reduce pollution risks and improve offshore safety by decommissioning infrastructure that could interfere with navigation, commercial fisheries, and other current or future ocean uses.

On Sept. 4, BSEE awarded the five-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract to Chet Morrison Contractors, LLC, to conduct necessary on-site pipeline decommissioning activities. On Sept. 13, BSEE awarded the first task order under the contract, for the Matagorda Island Area. The decommissioning contract is partially funded by President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

"With this award, BSEE advances to the active pipeline decommissioning phase of the Matagorda Island area project," said Kathryn Kovacs, Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, who leads BSEE. "The funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is crucial to BSEE as we tackle orphaned infrastructure on the Outer Continental Shelf, which presents a serious hazard to safety and the environment."

Last year, BSEE awarded contracts for the decommissioning of nine orphaned wells in the Matagorda Island lease area. The comprehensive project addresses urgent decommissioning needs, including securing wellheads, decommissioning pipelines with hazardous materials, and preparing the site for permanently sealing the wells.

While decommissioning on the OCS is the obligation of the oil and gas industry, BSEE must ensure that wells and infrastructure used in exploration, development, and production activities undertaken pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act are decommissioned properly and in a timely manner to remove unnecessary hazards to safety, navigation, and the environment. BSEE's regulatory authority for OCS decommissioning is provided by 30 CFR 250, Subpart Q, Decommissioning Activities.

Overall, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $250 million to clean up well sites in national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and other public lands and waters, nearly $150 million of which has been disbursed over the past three years.

For additional information regarding BSEE's decommissioning requirements and activities, visit BSEE's decommissioning web page.