Existing law requires a person who acquires the right to operate a well or production facility, whether by purchase, transfer, assignment, conveyance, exchange, or other disposition, to submit to the state oil and gas regulator (CalGEM) or a district deputy certain materials, including either an individual indemnity bond or a blanket indemnity bond in certain amounts.
This bill will require a person who acquires the right to operate a well or production facility, whether by purchase, transfer, assignment, conveyance, exchange, or other disposition, to instead file with CalGEM a bond for the well or production facility in an amount determined by CalGEM to be sufficient to cover, in full, all costs of plugging and abandonment and site restoration. Because the bill will change the bonding requirement for the acquisition of a well or production facility, and thereby, will change the scope of a crime, this bill will impose a state-mandated local program. The bill will require CalGEM to maintain records of all transfers recognized as complete, including all materials required to be provided by the new operator, and to make those records available in a searchable and aggregable format on CalGEM’s website.
Status: Signed into law by Governor Newsom on October 7, 2023.
Full bill text and related information.
