Two operators were responsible for 551 of the 576 wells added to the state's Orphaned Well Program in the past year.
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Orphaned wells in Colorado doubled over past year
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Thursday, September 19, 2024
A pumpjack in northeastern Colorado, Greg Goebel via Wikimedia Commons ([link removed]) /CC BY-SA 2.0 ([link removed])
Oil and gas operators walked away from a record number of wells ([link removed]) in Colorado over the past year, with two operators responsible for the vast majority. According to a state report ([link removed]) , 576 wells were added to the state's Orphaned Well Program in fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30. Of those, 551 were abandoned by two operators: Omimex Petroleum Inc, which abandoned 339 wells, and WME Yates LLC, which abandoned 212 wells.
In 2022, Colorado strengthened its rules around the financial assurance companies must provide before being allowed to drill in the state. Both Omimex and WME Yates failed to comply ([link removed]) with the rules, including failing to pay fines and to pay to plug and clean up well sites. Neither company remains in business, and their wells are now the property—and financial responsibility—of the state. Also in 2022, Colorado added a new fee that operators pay per well; regulators hope this fee will generate $115 million over the next five years for the Orphan Wells Mitigation Enterprise Fund. In the meantime, much of the funding to plug orphaned wells is coming from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021.
Over the past year, Colorado plugged 132 orphaned wells. While this is a record, it is far fewer than the 576 orphaned wells that were added to the program's backlog last fiscal year. That backlog ([link removed]) now sits at 912 orphaned wells across the state, and regulators estimate that as many as 33,000 orphaned wells will eventually need to be plugged by the state. Orphaned and abandoned wells, if unplugged or improperly plugged, are more likely to leak oil and natural gas into the surrounding soil and air, posing health risks to nearby communities and harming animals and plants.
** Quick hits
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Havasupai Tribe continues to oppose controversial uranium mine
Cronkite News ([link removed])
Wyoming calls off sale of wildlife-rich tract in Jackson Hole (not the Kelly Parcel)
WyoFile ([link removed])
How ranchers and conservationists joined forces to stop drilling in Colorado's Thompson Divide
New York Times ([link removed])
NM releases draft feasibility study for controversial drilling wastewater proposal
NM Political Report ([link removed])
Water donation headed to Great Salt Lake
Utah News Dispatch ([link removed]) | Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
US nuclear repository is among the federally owned spots identified for renewable energy projects
Associated Press ([link removed])
Opinion: Striving for solar development balance on Nevada public lands
Nevada Current ([link removed])
Opinion: Draft of Forest Service’s policy is a good step, but it must go further to protect Colorado’s old-growth forests
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” This planning process could determine the pattern of energy development on desert public lands in this extraordinary landscape for decades to come. They’ve got to get it right.”
—Mason Voehl, Amargosa Conservancy, Nevada Current ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@usinterior ([link removed])
The Dena’ina people call this special place “Yaghanen” — the good land. It’s also known as the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
From ice fields and glaciers to tundra, forests and coastal wetlands, the Kenai Refuge is often called “Alaska in miniature.”
Alaska’s most-visited refuge is nearly two million acres in size. World-class fishing, camping and hiking opportunities draw people from around the world.
Photo by @usfws ([link removed])
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