In the attached supplement to his comments on BOEM’s financial assurance rule for offshore oil and gas facilities, decommissioning specialist John Smith raises concerns about reliance on cost data submitted by operators. John contrasts operator estimates for platforms in California state waters with estimates provided by independent consultants.
As summarized below and explained in the attachment, the more realistic independent estimates were 2-3 times higher than the operators’ “high end” estimates.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 