Freeport-McMoRan Oil And Gas, LLC Lease Expiration

On November 27, 2018, four federal oil and gas leases offshore southern California, held by Freeport McMoRan Oil & Gas, LLC (Freeport-McMoRan), expired by operation of law. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has called on the former lessee, Chevron U.S.A Inc. (Chevron) to carry out removal of all existing oil and gas infrastructure on these leases.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) requires financial assurance from record title interest holders to guarantee compliance with lease obligations and regulations associated with the cost of decommissioning offshore oil and gas facilities and associated pipelines in federal waters. Oversight and approval of all decommissioning activities in federal waters falls under the jurisdiction of the BSEE.

Freeport-McMoRan will submit a decommissioning application to BSEE for review and approval. BOEM maintains close coordination with BSEE and other federal, state and local permitting agencies throughout the decommissioning process. Once BSEE accepts a decommissioning application, BOEM will conduct an environmental review of the application for use in BSEE’s decision.

Freeport-McMoRan assets in federal waters to be decommissioned include three offshore oil and gas facilities, Platforms Harvest, Hermosa, and Hidalgo, off southern California. Offshore pipelines associated with the three platforms will also be decommissioned.



Relinquished Leases