Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Liability shifting (spin-offs, bankruptcy, closure bonds) · United States · 2024

Fieldwood bankruptcy and US offshore decommissioning

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

Estimated decommissioning liabilities for US offshore oil platforms are far larger than the supplemental bonds held against them. The bankruptcy of Fieldwood Energy moved about $9 billion of liabilities to co-owners and previous owners.

$40-70bn vs ~$3.5bn estimateEstimated liabilities vs supplemental bonds held (June 2023)
GAO-24-106229; figures as stated, not recomputed.

Status As of April 2024: BOEM rule adding $6.9bn in supplemental financial assurance issued; no later source found.

What?
Estimated US offshore decommissioning liabilities far exceed the supplemental bonds held; Fieldwood's bankruptcy moved about $9bn of liabilities to co-owners and predecessors.
Where?
US offshore oil and gas platforms.
When?
Bonds as of June 2023; BOEM rule April 2024.
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
  • Co-owners and previous owners of Fieldwood assets — Received about $9bn of liabilities.
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Supplemental bonds and financial assurance requirements set by BOEM; liabilities passed to prior owners in the bankruptcy.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

A report cited as GAO-24-106229 estimated decommissioning liabilities for US offshore oil and gas platforms at $40-70 billion. Against this, about $3.5 billion of supplemental bonds were held as of June 2023.

In the bankruptcy of Fieldwood Energy, about $9 billion of liabilities were pushed to co-owners and predecessors.

In April 2024 the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a rule that added $6.9 billion in new supplemental financial assurance.

  1. 2023About $3.5bn of supplemental bonds held against estimated $40-70bn liabilities (June)
  2. 2024BOEM rule: $6.9bn in new supplemental financial assurance (April)

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • Estimated liabilities of $40-70bn against about $3.5bn of supplemental bonds held (June 2023), per GAO-24-106229.
    • The Fieldwood bankruptcy pushed about $9bn of liabilities to co-owners and predecessors.
    • BOEM's April 2024 rule added $6.9bn in new supplemental financial assurance.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Estimated liabilities
    $40-70bn
    GAO-24-106229
    Supplemental bonds held
    ~$3.5bn
    June 2023
    Liabilities moved to co-owners and predecessors
    ~$9bn
    Fieldwood bankruptcy

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    No independent ecological evaluation

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed give no date or court outcome for the Fieldwood bankruptcy.
    • None on record No source states what share of the platforms has been decommissioned, or the condition of the sites.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    About $9 billion of Fieldwood's liabilities passed to co-owners and previous owners.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Bonds and banking

    Liquidation, insolvency, bankruptcy
    Legal processes that apply when a company cannot pay its debts; its assets are sold and claims against it may go unpaid.

    Science and environment

    PFOA (C8) and PFAS
    PFAS are a large family of human-made chemicals that persist in the environment and the body; PFOA, also called C8, is one of them and was used to make Teflon.
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