Offshore drilling financial rules get an extra week for public comment

The US government is giving the public an extra seven days to comment on proposed new rules for offshore drilling companies. These rules would change how much money companies must set aside to cover potential cleanup costs and other obligations.

The US government wants to make sure that if an offshore oil or gas company goes bankrupt, taxpayers are not left paying for environmental damage or decommissioning old rigs. These new rules aim to shift more of that financial risk back to the companies themselves. The current system has often left the public on the hook for billions in cleanup costs.