State Updates: Supplement to Orphan Well Report

One of the biggest challenges in plugging orphan wells is knowing how many orphan wells there are and where they are. Recently the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) released a supplemental update to their 2023 report Supplemental Information on State Prioritization Systems for Orphan Wells. This update reports that even though states and provinces have plugged more than 18,000 wells between 2021 and 2023, the number of orphan wells has actually increased by 54 percent in the same span.

This increase is primarily due to increased efforts to document orphan wells, with the new tally providing a more complete picture of the. The update also reports costs to plug orphan wells, with an overall average of $36,505 per well and costs ranging from $3,644 to $343,750 per well.

Finding Funds: More Money for Plugging Wells

The IOGCC report notes that 99% of the increase in orphan well plugging has been due to federal funding. Adding to previous funding, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has awarded millions of dollars in grants for orphan well plugging and remediation.

Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, New York, and Ohio are being awarded a total of $126.7 million, which will allow these five states to plug nearly 600 more orphan wells and better document remaining orphan wells for future plugging efforts. Additional grant awards include $37 million for Kentucky, Mississippi, and Missouri, $30.59 million for Arkansas and Louisiana, and nearly $30 million for West Virginia.

Arizona

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) reports that its orphan well program is starting its well plugging efforts. Since 2022 the program has been assessing and characterizing orphan well sites and has now located and verified about 80 of the approximately 200 suspected orphan wells in the state.

California

California’s Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) has been making progress in its well plugging efforts. CalGEM reports that it expects to have 118 wells from its Phase I list plugged by the second quarter of 2025. This amounts to approximately $27 million in plugging work. Additionally, they expect to have the remaining 88 wells, amounting to another $20 million in plugging, completed by the end of 2025.

Indiana

So far in 2024 the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has plugged 318 wells, leaving 48 on the list of wells to be remediated. IDNR reports it has $4.6 million remaining in its well plugging fund, with more on the way from the recent DOI grant award.

Mississippi

The additional grant money coming to Mississippi will add to Misissippi State Oil and Gas Board’s (MSOGB) plugging program, which has plugged more than 70 oil and gas wells so far in 2024.

Ohio

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has been hard at work, increasing state funded orphan well plugging from 176 wells in 2022 to 304 wells in 2023. Despite significant progress OH is estimated to be home to potentially more orphan wells than any other state and therefore has prioritized plugging to address wells that pose the most risk to public health and the environment first.

DOI recently announced OH will be receiving $57.25M to plug ~ 600 wells and identify additional undocumented orphan wells for future plugging.

"Some of these wells can be more challenging and take more time and resources to plug compared to more shallow wells" – Karina Cheung, ODNR Media & Outreach Specialist/Press Secretary

BioSqueeze recently assisted ODNR with a challenging well in Cleveland, OH utilizing a Deep Penetrating Annular Surface (DPAS™) BioSqueeze^® to efficiently seal annular leaks, enabling the well to be permanently abandoned.

Texas

The State of Texas continues its aggressive efforts in plugging orphan and low-producing wells. In early July the Texas Railroad Commission (TRRC) reported it’s state funded program had plugged nearly 1,200 of the 2,000 wells it plans to abandon in 2024, the most of any state. Additionally, RRC expects to plug ~ 730 orphan wells with federal funding this year.

Future Funding: Spotlight on Challenging Wells

As states continue to bolster their orphan well plugging programs, we expect challenging wells (often wells with annular gas leaks or gas migration) to become increasingly important. Efficiently plugging these wells will prove paramount to ensure funding is stretched to plug as many wells as possible.

BioSqueeze provides an array of innovative well integrity solutions including our Deep Penetrating Annular Surface (DPAS™) BioSqueeze^®, a rigless solution that boasts an industry leading +90% success rate.