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Abandonment issues

Rockies Today
Abandonment issues
By Mountain West News • Issue #270 • View online

Confronting our huge orphaned well problem
Interior devotes billions to plugging old oil wells. Is it enough?
The infrastructure bill that President Biden signed in November includes $4.7 billion to plug and reclaim abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells. This is a historically large figure, but the injection of cash pales in comparison to the full cleanup cost for the new abandoned well figure. Plugging wells is a time-consuming and expensive process. Using estimates from a 2021 GAO report, the cost of plugging all 130,000 abandoned wells could range from $2.6 billion to more nearly $19 billion. According to industry experts and the plugging cost estimates used by oil state regulators, the expected cost is very likely to fall on the upper end of that spectrum. And it’s likely that this larger figure represents only a fraction of the problem: The EPA stated in an April 2021 report that there could be as many as 3.4 million abandoned wells nationally.
www.hcn.org  •  Share
Interior reveals plans for orphan well cleanup
Interior reveals plans for orphan well cleanup
The MOU signed last week creates an executive team to provide high-level direction, decide on funding and prepare annual reports on the orphan well cleanup efforts to Congress. The team will be made up of the five Interior assistant secretaries, the director of the BLM and undersecretary for natural resources and environment at the USDA.
www.eenews.net  •  Share
Colorado oil and gas wells are constantly changing hands. Some risk becoming costly 'orphans' along the way.
Colorado oil and gas wells are constantly changing hands. Some risk becoming costly 'orphans' along the way.
Since 2017, more than 42,000 oil and gas properties have been bought or sold in Colorado. If they fall into the wrong hands, they risk ending up abandoned, leaving the state on the hook for cleanup.
coloradosun.com  •  Share
Montana-based company takes on abandoned wells
Montana-based company takes on abandoned wells
“The goal is not to point fingers and lay blame. We are an action-based organization and in true Montana fashion we felt it was important to get out there and roll up our sleeves and do something about it, and not just think about it.”
helenair.com  •  Share
Oil and gas industry must pay for abandoned well cleanup, new Alberta rules say
Oil and gas industry must pay for abandoned well cleanup, new Alberta rules say
Alberta’s oil and gas regulator has rolled out new rules aimed at addressing the growing problem of inactive and abandoned wells in the province, but critics say the industry should be forced to do even more to clean up after itself.
www.cbc.ca  •  Share
Barreling along
Montana grants access to Yellowstone River for power plant pipeline
Montana’s top state office holders have approved a new route for a natural gas pipeline beneath the Yellowstone River over the protests of Laurel landowners. The pipeline is crucial to the supply of a proposed 175-megawatt gas-fired power plant proposed by NorthWestern Energy.
billingsgazette.com  •  Share
Natural gas plant near Laurel takes step forward, despite residents' opposition
Natural gas plant near Laurel takes step forward, despite residents' opposition
Landowners who would live near support infrastructure for NorthWestern Energy’s future natural gas plant in south-central Montana are pushing back against the development.
www.ypradio.org  •  Share
McWhinney details plans for 26 oil and gas wells in Loveland's Centerra area
McWhinney details plans for 26 oil and gas wells in Loveland's Centerra area
Residents are concerned about how the fracking sites could degrade air quality, produce noise and odors, and pose a risk to nearby lakes and wildlife. They’re also concerned about impacts to their property values and the potential safety hazard of living near fracking operations. 
www.coloradoan.com  •  Share
EIA: Permian oil output forecast to hit record high in February
EIA: Permian oil output forecast to hit record high in February
The largest U.S. crude basin, the Permian basin of Texas and New Mexico, is expected to have an output increase of 80,000 barrels per day to 5.076 million bpd, the EIA said.
www.reuters.com  •  Share
Permian earthquakes: Oil drilling and fracking linked to thousands of tremors
Permian earthquakes: Oil drilling and fracking linked to thousands of tremors
Thousands of earthquakes are shaking Texas and New Mexico. What the frack is going on?
www.vox.com  •  Share
Alaska worries that climate activists, major banks and possibly the federal government are rushing to make funeral arrangements for the state’s major industry, oil and gas.
www.spglobal.com  •  Share
Canadian oil and gas producers are awash in cash for the first time in years, thanks to crude prices that have surged back to multi-year highs after their collapse early in the pandemic. Revenues are expected to reach record levels this year if oil prices stay high, coming on the heels of a long stretch of belt-tightening and spending restraint across the industry.
www.cbc.ca  •  Share
Making the switch
Do you wish Utah utilities used more solar energy? Here’s what’s holding us back.
Utah has vast potential for renewable energy, particularly in solar and geothermal, as mapped by the state. But only a tiny fraction of that potential has been developed. The primary reason, according to experts, comes down to connection to power and lack of state incentives.
www.sltrib.com  •  Share
Colorado coal town grapples with future as plant shuts down
Colorado coal town grapples with future as plant shuts down
According to Ray Beck, former Moffat County commissioner and mayor of Craig, the county’s biggest source of revenue is property tax. Moffat County’s 2020 assessed value was nearly $430 million with 62% coming from the top 10 taxpayers, all energy-related businesses.
apnews.com  •  Share
Interior's 2022 energy strategy: 3 things to watch
Interior's 2022 energy strategy: 3 things to watch
Interior’s efforts will include authorizing solar energy in Western deserts and leasing waters in the Atlantic Ocean to offshore wind developers, as well as reexamining the rules that govern decommissioning offshore pipelines, drilling for oil and digging for federal coal.
subscriber.politicopro.com  •  Share
Four of the projects PacifiCorp is eyeing are in Utah, three in Wyoming, two in Oregon and one each in Idaho and Washington.
www.bizjournals.com  •  Share
Tri-State, stakeholders agree on utility's resource plan for Colorado
Tri-State, stakeholders agree on utility's resource plan for Colorado
The plan that will go to state regulators commits Tri-State to reducing emissions from its electricity sales in Colorado by 80% in 2030, based on 2005 levels. In the near term, the company says it will cut emissions by 26% in 2025; 36% in 2026; and 46% in 2027.
www.denverpost.com  •  Share
New Mexico green lights Permian Basin solar farm to power oil and gas operations
New Mexico green lights Permian Basin solar farm to power oil and gas operations
The Hayhurst New Mexico Solar Project will include about 55,000 solar panels and generate 20MW of solar power to support Chevron’s electrical loads in southeast New Mexico—a region known for supplying most of the state’s oil and gas production.
www.currentargus.com  •  Share
'Transformative change': Wind-generated electricity starting to outpace coal in Alberta
'Transformative change': Wind-generated electricity starting to outpace coal in Alberta
Marking a significant shift in Alberta energy history, wind generation provided more power to the province’s energy grid than coal several times last week week.
edmonton.ctvnews.ca  •  Share
Running a gauntlet
On one of Montana’s busiest highways, wildlife run the gauntlet
Highway 191 between Bozeman and Big Sky is one of the busiest roadways in Montana, and one of the deadliest for wildlife. Solutions are a long time coming. 
montanafreepress.org  •  Share
From Idaho to Montana, Ethyl the bear rambled 2,800 miles
From Idaho to Montana, Ethyl the bear rambled 2,800 miles
A radio-collared grizzly sow took a 2,800-mile trek through Montana and Idaho. Her trail shows the many places bears may soon inhabit as their numbers increase.
missoulian.com  •  Share
Idaho wolf control board will have $1 million to kill wolves
Idaho wolf control board will have $1 million to kill wolves
State officials on Wednesday requested $392,000 from the general fund to kill wolves in Idaho, and with other revenue sources will have just over $1 million for that purpose starting this summer.
apnews.com  •  Share
As Utah’s population grows, so does its need for wildlife crossings
As Utah’s population grows, so does its need for wildlife crossings
The Division of Wildlife Resources said studies show there’s a 90% reduction in wildlife and car collisions when these types of structures are in place.
www.kuer.org  •  Share
Inside the effort to uncage a bipartisan wildlife bill
Inside the effort to uncage a bipartisan wildlife bill
Put simply, “Recovering America’s Wildlife Act” amends the Pittman-Robertson Act to provide an additional $1.3 billion per year for states and territories, and $97.5 million per year for tribes, to assist in their efforts to conserve, restore, and protect wildlife and habitat.
www.eenews.net  •  Share
What else we're reading today
‘We meant business’: Park City ski patrollers say strike authorization vote led to better contract with Vail Resorts
‘We meant business’: Park City ski patrollers say strike authorization vote led to better contract with Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts and the Park City ski patrol union have reached a collective bargaining agreement, narrowly averting a strike that could have shut down the mountain during the ski season. The agreement was reached after 50 negotiations, over nearly a year and a half of talks, and after the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association raised $100,000 in a solidarity fund.
www.sltrib.com  •  Share
A public-access lawsuit in Montana’s Crazy Mountains claims Forest Service is catering to private landowners
A public-access lawsuit in Montana’s Crazy Mountains claims Forest Service is catering to private landowners
The lawsuit pits public-land advocates against the federal agency that has until recently upheld and defended the public’s right to access established trails in the Crazy Mountains
www.outdoorlife.com  •  Share
Former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and former Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze are two of the first four board members of a new nonprofit foundation created to help leverage public and private funds to conserve, protect and restore land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
apnews.com  •  Share
Utah Lake dredging proponents sue BYU professor who criticized project
Utah Lake dredging proponents sue BYU professor who criticized project
Proponents of a massive dredging project on Utah Lake have sued one of the project’s leading critics, a Brigham Young University ecology professor, alleging he has made false and defamatory statements in “a misguided and wrongful campaign” to turn the public against the island-building project that they claim will fix the lake’s long-standing environmental problems.
www.sltrib.com  •  Share
With more jobs than workers, Wyoming grapples with ‘great resignation’
With more jobs than workers, Wyoming grapples with ‘great resignation’
Employees gain leverage, shift priorities as many employers struggle to hire.
wyofile.com  •  Share
Turning scrap wood into innovative products could be a huge win for curbing carbon and wildfire
Turning scrap wood into innovative products could be a huge win for curbing carbon and wildfire
Looking for ways to pay for forest restoration, scientists hit on a a creative strategy: support new markets for fuels and construction materials made from small trees and branches.
www.anthropocenemagazine.org  •  Share
Free-range carbon
Free-range carbon
Not a silver bullet, but maybe a gold standard, a new market tool benefits climate, ecosystems, and people.
westernconfluence.org  •  Share
Rockies Today is edited by Matthew Frank, fellow in regional journalism at the O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana.
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