Thousands of abandoned oil wells dot the Texas landscape

Booming oil production in Texas is leaving behind thousands of oil wells that are no longer active.

Wells that are no longer in production are plugged by their respective operators, but if an inactive well has not had a solvent operator on record for a year, the plugging fee falls on the shoulders of the state’s oil and gas regulator, the Railroad Commission . from Texas (PRC).

But the RRC is doing a sloppy job of plugging orphan wells, and some of them continue to leak or explode, spewing toxic chemicals and gases, West Texas farmers and well control experts say.

The commission has about 8,500 on a list of inactive or disconnected wells. According to experts, there could be thousands more such undocumented wells scattered across Texas after more than a century of oil drilling and production.

Some of the plugged wells have become zombie wells. They returned to some kind of life, flowing salty sewage containing toxic substances. Other wells are exploding, possibly as a result of the recent fracking boom, in which drillers inject so-called produced water underground into escape wells, changing the underground layers where oil wells have been drilled over the past century.

West Texas ranchers have noticed a trend in the number of abandoned wells exploding and spewing salt water. Some landowners, as well as experts, criticize the RRC for a far from perfect record on plugging wells.

Texas regulators are doing their best, but undocumented wells are complicating their efforts. In such cases, the RRC has no jurisdiction over wells that have never been documented as oil wells, the Commission said. Texas Tribune at the beginning of this year.

Well control specialist Hawk Dunlap, who has decades of experience in the world’s largest oil-producing countries, has been a vocal critic of the PRC’s blocking efforts. Dunlap says the Commission has done a poor job of plugging it, leaving “zombie” wells that threaten to start spewing toxic wastewater.

He wants to change that and run for Commissioner for DRC with three seats in the elections to be held in the fall.

His campaign and motivation to become Commissioner is “driven by a dedication to protecting the environment and our communities,” says his campaign website.

Dunlap “understands the urgent need for reform, particularly in effectively plugging wells to prevent groundwater contamination, blowouts and the ‘zombie wells’ that can re-emerge after failed plugs.”

Dunlap, who has inspected hundreds of plugged wells in Texas since 2022, found that many were not plugged properly.

“This is the work of the three boys of the Railway Commission,” he said Reuters reporters in west texas.

Dunlap told Reuters his campaign is “to see that things are done right and not let the oil companies run over the citizens of Texas just because they produce oil and gas and pay some royalties.”

In addition to state funds, RRC has been awarded federal funds under the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act to assist in the connection program.

Last month, Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright problems reported with the federal program in testimony before the US House Committee on Natural Resources.

The Department of Interior (DOI) Formula Grant program has methane monitoring requirements that increase the cost of plugging wells by 10 percent, Wright said.

“Unfortunately, due to the increased costs and delays and extensive reviews required by DOI, the number of orphan wells plugged with federal funds in the first five months of the Formula Grant is 60 percent less than what was plugged in the first five months . under the Initial Grant,” the commissioner said.

Increased injection of produced water into underground disposal wells may also have exacerbated the problem and awakened zombie wells in West Texas.

PRC opened a well last month after a series of earthquakes hit the Permian Basin.

“It’s this perfect storm in the Permian with all this produced water, earthquakes and orphan wells,” Adam Peltz, director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s Energy Program, told Reuters.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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