What: On January 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a proposed rule entitled “Requirements for Site Security and Production Handling; Applying for Commingling and Allocation Approval,” which would revise its oil and gas site security, production handling, and commingling regulations. The proposed rule strengthens production accountability, reduces opportunities for theft or loss, and clarifies when and how operators may commingle production from multiple Federal and Indian leases, units, and communitized areas.
Why: BLM explains that its existing requirements for site security and production handling no longer fully reflect current field practices, infrastructure, and technology used in Federal and Indian oil and gas operations. The proposed rule would update provisions governing production measurement points, tank and pipeline security, recordkeeping, and reporting to improve the accuracy of royalty measurement and ensure that all production from Federal and Indian interests is properly accounted for.
BLM states that the proposed rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. However, small oil and gas operators could be affected by updated site security, facility measurement point, and commingling requirements, such as potential changes to equipment, monitoring, documentation, and reporting practices.
Small entities should review the proposed rules to determine whether new or clarified obligations (such as enhanced facility security standards, additional data and documentation needed to support commingling and allocation approvals, or revised recordkeeping and reporting requirements) would require changes to their existing systems or result in additional compliance costs.
Small operators are encouraged to submit detailed comments describing how specific provisions of the proposed rule would affect their operations, including quantitative information on expected compliance costs, operational challenges in remote or low-production areas, and suggestions for regulatory alternatives, phase-in periods, or flexible approaches that would achieve BLM’s accountability objectives while minimizing disproportionate impacts on small businesses.
Action: Review the proposed rule and submit comments before the March 31, 2026, deadline.
Is your small business or entity being impacted by a proposed rule? If yes, write a comment letter to the proposing agency.