News from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission

OKLAHOMA CITY – Halfway through fiscal year 2000, Oklahoma has paid to plug about one-third as many abandoned oil and gas wells as it did in all of fiscal 1999, Corporation Commission records indicate.

In 1999, the state spent $341,426 to plug 95 wells. So far this year, contracts have been let to plug 37 wells at an estimated cost of $117,577.

State funds are used to plug wells when no responsible party can be found to pay the costs, such as old wells drilled by companies that no longer exist. Money for plugging is provided by the oil and gas industry through payment of excise taxes on production.

There is no shortage of wells needing attention, but the rate of plugging is limited by the amount of money in the state plugging fund. In mid-January, Corporation Commission records listed 129 wells with plugging orders pending at estimated costs of $313,816, and 267 wells in various stages of the bid process with estimated plugging costs of $1.2 million. But there was only $151,490 available in the state well plugging fund.

The commission gives plugging priority to wells that pose an immediate danger to public safety or seem likely to pollute the environment.

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