The rise in orphan wells is being fed by smaller operators who no longer find it economical to operate in Colorado and the continued discovery of old wells, sometimes by developers looking to build houses on former oil and gas sites
Julie Murphy
Posted inBusiness
Oil and gas drilling plan OK’d for 55 square miles in Aurora, including area where 12,500 homes are planned
State regulators confirmed Crestone Peak’s Box Elder drilling plan for 55 square miles of land the energy company has been working on since 2020, saying Colorado’s new permitting process is “workable, protective”
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s largest oil and gas producer wants permission to drill closer than 2,000 feet from homes
The buffer between homes and oil and gas drilling in Colorado is by rule 2,000 feet, except when it isn’t, and a move to drill in the middle of a residential area in Firestone is raising questions about how secure that buffer will be. The state’s biggest operator, Occidental Petroleum, through its Colorado subsidiary Kerr-McGee, […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Oil and gas regulators dial back rules that keep industry from sticking Colorado with bill for orphan wells
Trying to balance a mandate to ensure the state is not stuck with abandoned oil and gas wells against the financial needs of the industry, Colorado regulators have issued a revised plan that has buoyed operators and left environmentalists in despair. Gone from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s initial draft rule for financial […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
An oil company that no longer exists faces a $344,000 fine Colorado doesn’t expect to collect. But that’s the point.
Colorado oil and gas regulators have levied a $344,000 fine they don’t expect to collect from a company that no longer exists. It was a legal stratagem for the state to seize a $20,000 bond from the bankrupt, Houston-based Alta Mesa Resources LP for failing to clean-up an abandoned well site in Huerfano County. The […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado doesn’t want to foot the bill for abandoned oil and gas wells. Here’s how it will avoid picking up the tab.
Colorado oil and gas regulators looking to avoid a rash of abandoned and unplugged oil and gas wells are proposing to increase financial guarantees by operators for each of their wells — a price tag that could add up to billions of dollars. The draft financial assurance regulations, released by the Colorado Oil and Gas […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, News, Politics and Government
Colorado regulators back 2,000-foot setback for new oil and gas drilling in “paradigm shift”
All homes and schools in Colorado should be protected from new oil and gas drilling by a 2,000-foot buffer or setback – four times the current standard for urban areas, a majority of the members of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission said. In a session Wednesday to review proposed rule changes on setbacks, […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Energy, News, Politics and Government
Colorado increases tax on oil and gas operators to fund a $3.4 million shortfall in regulators’ budget
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on Tuesday raised the tax it levies on oil and gas production in the state to fill a $3.4 million hole created by declining commodity prices – with the support of both industry and environmental groups. The support on the part of industry was the product of the […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Here’s who Gov. Polis just named to sit on the new, full-time panel regulating Colorado oil and gas
The full-time oil and gas commission that will handle the development of some of the most controversial regulations mandated by the legislature in 2019, was announced Monday by Gov. Jared Polis. The five-member commission, which takes over July 1, will replace the nine-member, volunteer body that has been working for the last year on regulations […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Every oil and gas well in Colorado must be pressure tested annually under new rules passed by regulators
Colorado regulators Wednesday adopted new rules to guard the integrity of oil and gas wells and protect groundwater resources — rules industry and environmental groups both called the most comprehensive in the country. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission adopted the rules unanimously after a day-long hearing conducted on the Internet conference service Zoom, […]