Three of the country’s largest fossil-fuel-producing states are considering new rules to prevent the abandonment of oil and gas wells.
Texas and Oklahoma’s legislatures for the first time could create restrictions on how long wells can be inactive or idled before operators must plug them. In New Mexico, the state’s oil and gas regulator is proposing new rules that would require operators to pay more in insurance to cover the cost of plugging abandoned wells.
The new rules are part of broader efforts to tackle the tens of thousands of old oil and gas wells that are left unplugged and without an owner that can properly seal them shut. Wells left inactive for years can contaminate ground and surface water and spew planet-warming methane out of their wellheads.
Once an oil and gas well is orphaned, any contamination and leftover equipment becomes a government — and taxpayer — liability.
