Committee advances bill to set time limits for plugging shut-in gas wells; sponsors cite 10-year remedy

Senate Bill 132, presented by Senator Burns, would amend state law governing well plugging to establish maximum time periods for plugging exemptions, define relevant terms and require notification and rulemaking related to plugging shut-in wells. The committee advanced the bill after questions about scope and owner obligations.

The nut graf: the sponsor said the bill gives operators a longer statutory window for gas wells—10 years—than existing provisions for oil wells and aims to address long-standing problems with abandoned or inactive wells that can affect landowners and the environment. Committee members pressed whether the bill could force owners to forfeit remaining economically recoverable gas and whether responsibility would fall to the Corporation Commission or state agencies if an operator becomes nonviable.

Senator Burns told the committee the bill does not “take people's property” and gives operators time to return wells to service if economically justified; he said the oil statute currently has a five-year standard and the bill extends the gas window to 10 years with transitional provisions. Senator Murdoch asked whether an operator that is no longer in business would leave responsibility with the OCC to plug the well; the sponsor acknowledged the problem and said it is a remedy he planned to address in future drafting. The sponsor said approximately “26,000 wells” are shut in, a figure cited to show scale.

The committee voted to advance the bill; the clerk recorded 9 ayes and 1 nay. Ending: sponsor and committee noted further clarifications would be needed to address nonviable operators and landowner protections.