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Colorado oil and gas regulators brought the hammer down on K.P. Kaufman (KPK) last week, ruling that the embattled oil and gas operator must come up with a $133 million bond to properly plug over one thousand wells, a financial requirement that is more than three times what the company proposed.
The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) rejected KPK's estimate for plugging and abandoning its wells, calling the remediation figures inadequate. “These are numbers that don’t pass the smell test,” said Commissioner Michael Cross. KPK has 90 days to post 10 percent of the total amount, $13.3 million, adding another 10 percent each year for the next 10 years.
This is not the first time the company has found itself on the receiving end of enforcement actions from the ECMC. In May 2021, KPK was ordered to shut down 87 wells and clean up 29 sites after a string of violations, including fouling a farm field and covering the road in front of Frederick High School with oily waste material.
“The Energy and Carbon Management Commission made the right decision,” Frederick Mayor Tracie Crites said in a statement. “We hope the decision in this case will lead operators to commit to stronger financial assurance planning and fewer orphaned wells throughout the state of Colorado.”
Interior to name Laura Daniel-Davis as acting deputy secretary
According to multiple sources, Interior department leadership is expected to name Laura Daniel-Davis as acting deputy secretary following the departure of Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau at the end of this month. Daniel-Davis was officially nominated to serve as assistant secretary for land and minerals management in the summer of 2021, though her nomination became a lightening rod for critics of President Joe Biden's energy policies and her nomination was eventually withdrawn. Daniel-Davis is currently the principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management. She is well-qualified and respected and she knows the department after serving in top roles during the Obama and Biden administrations.
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This is probably the biggest disaster in the United States, affecting more people than the Civil War, Pearl Harbor or 9/11 combined. I urge everyone to call the governor and ask him to stop this state-killing plan.”
