{"id":23031,"date":"2024-02-06T15:33:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T20:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=23031"},"modified":"2024-02-06T18:07:21","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T23:07:21","slug":"new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2024\/02\/06\/new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico can protect its citizens by closing an orphan well loophole"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/\/DSC0963-2-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23043 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/\/DSC0963-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"View of a pumpjack at a wellsite in Hobbs, NM. Foreground is a metal fence with barbed wire.\" width=\"540\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/DSC0963-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/DSC0963-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/DSC0963-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/DSC0963-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/DSC0963-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edf.org\/people\/adam-peltz\">Adam Peltz<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/margaret-coleman-phd-2018\/\">Meg Coleman<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">New Mexico\u2019s legislators have a remarkable opportunity in the coming days to protect New Mexico families, businesses and the environment by revising the antiquated Oil and Gas Act with House Bill 133.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What\u2019s currently at stake is who will pay for the billions of dollars-worth of well plugging and clean-up costs for end of life oil wells: oil and gas operators or New Mexico\u2019s taxpayers. HB 133 will give the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department the leeway to ensure that oil and gas operators are able and required to cover these costs rather than New Mexicans. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.edf.org%2Fenergyexchange%2F2024%2F02%2F06%2Fnew-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole%2F&#038;text=New%20Mexico%20can%20protect%20its%20citizens%20by%20closing%20an%20orphan%20well%20loophole&#038;via=EDFEnergyEx&#038;related=EDFEnergyEx' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Mexico can protect its citizens by closing an orphan well loophole <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.edf.org%2Fenergyexchange%2F2024%2F02%2F06%2Fnew-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole%2F&#038;text=New%20Mexico%20can%20protect%20its%20citizens%20by%20closing%20an%20orphan%20well%20loophole&#038;via=EDFEnergyEx&#038;related=EDFEnergyEx' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">When oil wells cease to be productive, they need to be plugged in order to prevent methane emissions, air toxics emissions, groundwater contamination, and to protect public health and safety. If a company fails to plug their wells, either through bankruptcy or disappearance, it is considered an orphan well. There are approximately 1,700 orphan wells in the state, with many thousands more wells that are at risk of becoming orphaned over the coming decades. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Currently, oil and gas operators in New Mexico can cover the liability of all of their active wells with a single blanket bond of $250,000. This means that if a well is orphaned, state regulators can collect this blanket bond to pay for plugging costs. As you might expect, $250K doesn\u2019t go very far in the well plugging business \u2014 in New Mexico on average it covers the cost of plugging two wells. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There are several operators in the state with hundreds or even thousands of wells on their books: all covered for a mere $250K blanket bond. If those companies were to go bankrupt the state will inherit tens or even hundreds of millions in plugging costs that taxpayers will be on the hook for.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">EMNRD has proposed a solution to this, which is the basis of HB 133. The bill would raise caps for the largest operators to $10 million \u2014 with provisions to exclude small businesses (which make up 80% of the state\u2019s operators) from financial assurance increases. The bill will also give EMNRD more authority to prevent well transfers to companies that are at risk of bankruptcy, meaning that the bill will empower EMNRD to reduce taxpayer costs at several different stages of the process.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The sooner we pass the bill the better. Recently EMNRD <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sourcenm.com\/2023\/12\/22\/its-settled-new-mexico-to-bankroll-plugging-of-oil-wells-for-texas-company\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">settled<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> with Texas-based Ridgeway Arizona Oil Corp, a company on the verge of bankruptcy and responsible for numerous violations. The state will be covering the lion\u2019s share of the estimated $30 million cost to plug 300 of Ridgeway\u2019s languishing inactive wells \u2014 a cost to which Ridgeway will contribute a whopping $30,000 per month for as long as they continue to have cashflow. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Assuming the company is still solvent and making money, then they\u2019ll finish paying off the costs in late spring of the year <em>2107<\/em>.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Common sense would tell us that this is not a fair way to distribute responsibility, and New Mexicans agree \u2014 in November 2023 a poll conducted by Change Research asked New Mexico voters \u201cDo you support or oppose requiring oil and gas companies to plug up the wells they have created when the wells are no longer producing energy?\u201d 80% of respondents said yes, while only 10% said no, meaning that requiring oil and gas companies to plug their own wells is a +70 issue in New Mexico. It\u2019s not just sensible and urgent to pass HB 133, but also a potential political win for state leaders.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/\/Slide1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23032 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/\/Slide1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/\/Slide2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23033 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/\/Slide2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide2.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/\/Slide3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23034 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/\/Slide3-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide3-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/Slide3.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">HB 133 wouldn\u2019t entirely prevent the Ridgeway situation (again, the cap on blanket bonds will only be raised to $10 million), but $10 million is a substantial improvement over the current $250K. EMNRD is in charge of looking out for the natural wonders that make New Mexico so beautiful, protecting the public health of families and communities here, and managing the rich resources that help keep the state\u2019s economy humming. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">That\u2019s a lot of responsibility, and it\u2019s urgent that we empower the state with tools that can help it avoid exploitative situations like the one with Ridgeway. The financial assistance reform in HB 133 is one way that we can help EMNRD achieve its mission and keep New Mexicans safe from the harms of old, leaky wells.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Adam Peltz and Meg Coleman New Mexico\u2019s legislators have a remarkable opportunity in the coming days to protect New Mexico families, businesses and the environment by revising the antiquated Oil and Gas Act with House Bill 133.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[114057,114055],"class_list":["post-23031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New Mexico can protect its citizens by closing an orphan well loophole - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2024\/02\/06\/new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Mexico can protect its citizens by closing an orphan well loophole - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Adam Peltz and Meg Coleman New Mexico\u2019s legislators have a remarkable opportunity in the coming days to protect New Mexico families, businesses and the environment by revising the antiquated Oil and Gas Act with House Bill 133.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2024\/02\/06\/new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-06T20:33:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-06T23:07:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/\/DSC0963-2-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"EDF Blogs, Adam Peltz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"EDF Blogs, Adam Peltz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/06\\\/new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/06\\\/new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"EDF Blogs\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aae063915aaf10301a322185853c51d3\"},\"headline\":\"New Mexico can protect its citizens by closing an orphan well loophole\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-06T20:33:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-06T23:07:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/06\\\/new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":735,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/06\\\/new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/\\\/DSC0963-2-1024x683.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/06\\\/new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/06\\\/new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/06\\\/new-mexico-can-protect-its-citizens-by-closing-an-orphan-well-loophole\\\/\",\"name\":\"New Mexico can protect its citizens by closing an orphan well loophole - 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