Source: Colorado Sun
Excerpt:
Profitable oil and gas production in Colorado is increasingly concentrated in a few basins leaving the rest of the operations with few resources and posing risk to getting all 47,000 of the state’s active wells plugged and remediated, according to a report from Carbon Tracker.
At least 27,000 wells — more than half the state tally — don’t generate enough cash to pay for their eventual plugging and site remediation, the report by the nonprofit think tank focused on climate and finance.
In 2022, the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, adopted financial assurance regulations requiring every operator to have a plan and financial reserves to plug their wells.
So far, 158 plans accounting for 90% of the wells that fall under the rules have been approved raising $613 million over the next 20 years. Another 40 plans are under review covering another 8% of the wells in the state.
The rules also created a $10 million per year fund for plugging, financed by fees on the industry, as well as a projected $65 million in federal grants.
