C.F.R. » Title 30 » CHAPTER II—BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR › SUBCHAPTER B—OFFSHORE › PART 250—OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF › Subpart Q—Decommissioning Activities

30 C.F.R. § 250.1703

What are the general requirements for decommissioning?

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Link to an amendment published at 91 FR 35362, June 10, 2026.

When your facilities are no longer useful for operations, you must:

(a) Get approval from the appropriate District Manager before decommissioning wells and from the Regional Supervisor before decommissioning platforms and pipelines or other facilities;

(b) Permanently plug all wells. Packers and bridge plugs used as qualified mechanical barriers must comply with ANSI/API Spec. 11D1 (as incorporated by reference in § 250.198). You must have two independent barriers, one being an ANSI/API Spec. 11D1 qualified mechanical barrier, in the exposed center wellbore prior to removing the tree and/or well control equipment;

(c) Remove all platforms and other facilities, except as provided in §§ 250.1725(a) and 250.1730.

(d) Decommission all pipelines;

(e) Clear the seafloor of all obstructions created by your lease, pipeline right-of-way, or right-of-use and easement operations;

(f) Follow all applicable requirements of subpart G of this part; and

(g) Conduct all decommissioning activities in a manner that is safe, does not unreasonably interfere with other uses of the OCS, and does not cause undue or serious harm or damage to the human, marine, or coastal environment.

[76 FR 64462, Oct. 18, 2011, as amended at 81 FR 26037, Apr. 29 2016; 84 FR 21984, May 15, 2019; 88 FR 23580, Apr. 18, 2023]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 2010–2020 · leading case: Cutting Underwater Tech. USA, Inc. v. Eni U.S. Operating Co., 671 F.3d 512 (5th Cir. 2012).
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Cutting Underwater Tech. USA, Inc. v. Eni U.S. Operating Co., 671 F.3d 512 (5th Cir. 2012). · cites it 2× “” 30 C.F.R. § 250.1703 . 9 The predecessor regulations—which took effect in 1997 and were thus applicable in 1999 when the wells attached to Platform 313-A were plugged—delineated, in a similar fashion, the decommissioning obligations of a lessee.”
Taylor Energy Co. LLC v. United States, 975 F.3d 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2020). · cites it 2× “30 C.F.R. § 250.1703 (b)–(e). A lessee must complete its decommissioning obligations within one year after the lease terminates, unless BSEE authorizes alternate procedures or departures.”
Nabors Offshore Corp. v. Whistler Energy II (In Re Whistler Energy II, L. L.C.), 931 F.3d 432 (5th Cir. 2019). “7 This BSEE regulation provides, in relevant part: What are the general requirements for decommissioning? When your facilities are no longer useful for operations, you must: (a) Get approval from the appropriate District Manager before decommissioning wells and from the Regional…”
Tetra Tech., Inc. v. Cont'l Ins., 814 F.3d 733 (5th Cir. 2016). “See 30 C.F.R. § 250.1703 (listing general requirements for decommissioning) ("When your facilities are no longer useful for operations, you must .”
Mariner Energy, Inc. v. Devon Energy Prod. Co., 690 F. Supp. 2d 558 (S.D. Tex. 2010). “See 30 C.F.R. § 250.1703 . The work must be consistent with safety and environmental protection.”
Aera Energy LLC v. Beta Operating Co. (5th Cir. 2020). “30 C.F.R. § 250.1703 . Every lessee of an offshore oil and gas field— past and present—is jointly and severally liable for decommissioning the wells in their field.”
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