Trump DOI Wants To Give Some Gulf Wells a Break On Royalty Payments

"The Trump administration wants offshore drillers to tap more of the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico for oil and natural gas production.

And it has just figured out a way of encouraging them to do so: cutting the operators of some new wells a break on how much they have to pay the federal government.

The new policy, described this week by two federal agencies in charge of overseeing the sea of petroleum underneath the Gulf and other public waters, is designed to spur business to drill for more than $20 billion worth of oil and gas near the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama."

Dino Grandoni reports for the Washington Post November 22, 2019.