Oklahoma faces costly challenge with over 18,000 abandoned oil and gas wells

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — According to a recent report, Oklahoma is grappling with an expensive issue caused by tens of thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells. With an estimated 18,000 documented wells in need of plugging, state officials warn that the true number could be much higher.

According to Matt Skinner, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the challenge is not just the volume of abandoned wells but also the cost of sealing them.

"Right now, we’re at about 18,000. We have every reason to think that number is going to be much higher when everything is said and done," Skinner explained

An abandoned or orphaned well is defined as a well with no responsible party that can be identified or one that predates modern record-keeping requirements. That leaves the responsibility—and the financial burden—on the state.

"We’ve had wells that have literally cost $1 million to plug, and we’ve had wells that cost $5,000," Skinner said. "Our average well plugging cost is $22,000, but that’s just an average. We go much, much higher and much, much lower."

Some of these abandoned wells may be purging or leaking oil, gas, or saltwater. In Tulsa, multiple abandoned wells can even be seen protruding from the Arkansas River.

Skinner emphasized that the state prioritizes wells based on risk.

"We have to constantly review the list of abandoned wells to see which are at the greatest risk of purging. When a well is classified as ‘Category One’—meaning it is actively purging oil, gas, or saltwater—we plug it as fast as we possibly can," he said.

Red Dirt Energy, a company that works to seal these wells, says the process can vary depending on the condition of each well.

"It typically takes three to five days from start to finish, depending on the depth and the integrity of the wellbore," said Scott St. John, the company’s Chief Operations Officer. "We had a well back in January that had holes in the casing in several areas, and it took us two days just to locate those holes."

Oklahoma has a well-plugging program funded by an excise tax paid by active oil and gas operators. However, additional federal funding has also been available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, but currently, that federal funding is on hold.

St. John emphasized that funding—not time—is the biggest obstacle to addressing the issue.

"I think the funding is more of an issue than the length of time it takes to plug these wells," St. John said. "You have to prioritize which wells are the most problematic from a public health and environmental perspective and go from there."