** Bankrupt frackers could leave behind costly mess
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Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Well and gas flare in New Mexico's Permian Basin | Blake Thornberry ([link removed])
After a decade of racking up immense debt, oil and gas companies in the West have been crushed by the coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn. Major drillers, including Chesapeake ([link removed]) and Extraction Oil and Gas ([link removed]) , have filed for bankruptcy, and analysis suggests ([link removed]) another 250 companies could file for protection by the end of next year. These bankruptcies won't just impact laid off workers and investors, they could leave behind leaking pipes and orphaned wells ([link removed]) —abandoned operations to be cleaned up at taxpayer expense—that communities will deal with for years to come.
In New Mexico, regulators say ([link removed]) up to 70 percent of the state's 57,000 wells could become uneconomic and either shut-in or orphaned if oil prices do not rebound. Remarkably, the Bureau of Land Management does not have a database of orphaned wells or a systematic way to track them, making it difficult to even assess the problem. When orphaned wells are identified, state and federal agencies do not have adequate funds to reclaim each well, thanks to outdated bonding rates set more than 60 years ago.
While workers and nearby communities will feel the sting of these bankruptcies, oil and gas CEOs are apparently not. An analysis by the New York Times ([link removed]) finds companies that recently filed for bankruptcy gave executives millions in bonuses just prior to shedding and restructuring debt, softening the blow for them while deepening the hole for impacted communities.
Quick hits
** Conservationists rally against nomination of anti-public lands extremist to lead Bureau of Land Management
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Westword ([link removed])
** Calls amplify to rename Colorado's peaks, valleys and creeks
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** It's so hot in Death Valley National Park that cars are breaking down
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Sacramento Bee ([link removed])
** Federal watchdogs muzzled under Trump administration
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Huffington Post ([link removed])
** Wildlife officials propose ambitious effort to protect 100,000 acres of Montana timberland with easements
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Flathead Beacon ([link removed])
** Opinion: Rampant oil and gas leasing threatens Old Spanish National Historic Trail
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** Senators Udall and Henrich: Our wild lands and rivers are some of the best places for us to invest
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Las Cruces Sun News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
We should mount a historic campaign to invest in forward-looking economic drivers like our public lands. This proposition is a win-win: each of these investments will fuel economic recovery and create a cleaner and healthier future for our children, so they too can enjoy the beauty of this great nation.”
—Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, Las Cruces Sun News ([link removed])
Picture this
Slinkard Wilderness Study Area in California
Photo by Bob Wick | Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
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