Colorado is committing up to $14 million in federal and state funds to plug 142 marginal wells with the aim of cutting pollution and avoiding the sites ending up on the state’s orphan well list.
The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission awarded grants to plug and abandon the wells and remediate the sites to 30 operators across 21 counties.
The money will come from a $12.6 million federal grant to reduce methane emissions and $5 million from the state Orphan Well Mitigation Enterprise fund, which collects a $115 fee per well from all oil and gas operators. No state tax dollars will be used.
The ECMC estimates well-plugging costs in the state range between $10,000 and $40,000 and site remediation at about $1 million.
Between the state and federal funding there were about 9,500 wells in the state eligible for the program. There are about 46,000 active wells in the state.
These marginal wells produce little oil and gas, and are usually near the end of their lives, and account for “disproportionately high levels of methane emissions,” according to the ECMC. The wells often sit idle for years.
“Plugging wells and preventing orphan wells is an important way to reduce pollution, improve Colorado’s air quality, and make communities safer,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement.
The oil and gas operators in the program have agreed to plug and abandon their wells and remediate the sites and then seek reimbursement from the ECMC. Work is slated to begin this summer.
“Operators will work with an approved service contractor to perform the work, beginning by capturing pre-plugging methane measurements,” the commission said in a statement. “ECMC staff will track the status of plugging operations.”
Eighteen of the wells are on the Front Range in Arapahoe, Adams and Weld counties. The largest concentration of wells, 26, are in Yuma County followed by La Plata and Moffat counties, each with 13 wells to be plugged and abandoned.
The federal funds came from the $1.3 billion Methane Emissions Reduction Program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act, and administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. Colorado is one of 14 states able to access the funding.
“By permanently plugging these wells we address an outsized culprit of methane emissions, which are a direct contributor to climate change and adverse to public health,” ECMC Chairman Jeff Robbins said in a statement.