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Audit: Louisiana Cannot Keep Pace with New Orphan Oil and Gas Wells

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worker tests an abandoned well in Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge near Lake Charles, Louisiana.
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worker tests an abandoned well in Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge near Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The state audit reveals almost a thousand orphaned wells were plugged from fiscal year 2020 to 2023. But nearly 1,700 new wells were reported.

There are nearly 5,000 abandoned, unplugged oil and gas wells in Louisiana. And according to a state audit, the state’s Office of Conservation is not keeping pace with the growing problem. According to the international non-profit Environmental Defense Fund, “Poorly regulated idled wells pose a serious health risk to the communities forced to live with them given the risk of soil and groundwater contamination, toxic air emissions and reduced property values.”

Eva Tesfaye with Louisiana Public Radio reports that the audit says almost a thousand orphaned wells were plugged from fiscal year 2020 to 2023. But nearly 1,700 new wells were reported. Part of the problem is state law caps the fund for this effort at $14 million.
Gina Brown is the Audit Services Manager at the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office. And Brown says $14 million is not enough money to tackle the problem. “We estimated that it would take approximately $542.9 million to address the current population of orphaned wells.” Brown’s report describes “plugging” as encompassing “all required oilfield site restoration activities, including plugging wells, pit closure, site remediation, and removal of oilfield equipment.

In response to the report, the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) announced it is in the process of establishing a new division to better track and manage inactive wells. A U.S. Department of the Interior (IOS) news release from January 31, 2022, summarized the orphaned oil and gas well site initiative. That’s when the Biden Administration announced $1.15 billion in funding available to states from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, and a graduate of the University of Washington, Jeff began his on-air broadcasting career 33 years ago in the Black Hills of South Dakota as a general assignment reporter.
Eva Tesfaye