Committee considers bill letting operators pay to plug orphaned wells without assuming liability

Senator Birdwell, author of Senate Bill 1146, told the Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Economic Development that the bill would allow operators who hold an interest in a current oil-and-gas lease or mineral estate to pay the Railroad Commission or an RRC-approved well plugger to plug or replug an orphaned well without assuming liability for the well.

Orphaned wells, Birdwell said, are "inactive non compliant wells that have been inactive for a minimum of 12 months, and the responsible operators organization report, the form P-5, has been delinquent for more than 12 months." He said the state currently assumes liability for such wells in perpetuity and that SB 1146 aims to allow willing operators to expedite plugging in some cases while avoiding shifting perpetual liability to private parties.

The bill as presented would require a well plugger who contracts to plug or replug an orphaned well to mail notice to the operator of…