oil and gas
When Colorado oil and gas wells are sold to small companies, can the new owners afford the cleanup costs?
The shuffling of wells from big operators to much smaller ones increases the risk that they will be orphaned and left for the state to clean up, regulators and environmental groups fear.
Colorado oil and gas wells are constantly changing hands. Some risk becoming costly “orphans” along the way.
Since 2017, more than 42,000 oil and gas properties have been bought or sold in Colorado. If they fall into the wrong hands, they risk ending up abandoned, leaving the state on the hook for cleanup.
First-in-the-U.S. rules that give oil and gas industry leeway in slashing emissions OK’d in Colorado
Not everyone is happy about the latitude the state Air Quality Control Commission gave operators, but the goal is to cut methane, “not vilify the oil and gas industry.”
Opinion: 3 lessons from the energy crisis
Understanding the cause of tight supply and high prices is not as simple as blaming Biden, or windmills, or oil and gas producers
Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann, a Republican, jumps into crowded 8th Congressional District primary
Before being elected mayor in 2019, Kulmann served on the Thornton city council. She is professional oil and gas engineer.
Opinion: To reduce ozone, cut emissions at the source
Direct regulation is the best way to get reluctant oil and gas operators to reduce harmful methane
Biden sets out oil, gas leasing reform, stops short of public-lands ban
Long-awaited Interior Department report recommends hiking federal royalty rates for oil and gas drilling, which have not been raised for 100 years.
Colorado activists want gas-fired electrical plants to stop spewing pollution over Denver
Neighbors and conservation groups seek earlier closure of Cherokee and Arapahoe power stations. They emit half the CO2 of coal, but are still among the largest polluters in the state.
Colorado drilling company behind leaks, spills will pay a fraction of the massive fine it initially faced
KP Kauffman has also agreed to a comprehensive clean-up of spills and releases from wells, tanks, and flowlines at 74 sites under a “global” remediation plan
Oil and gas regulators dial back rules that keep industry from sticking Colorado with bill for orphan wells
COGCC waters down financial assurance plans with small operators in mind. Environmental groups are outraged.
Biden administration says oil, gas sales damage climate — but won’t stop them on public lands in the West
The Interior Department says selling oil and gas leases on public land in the West could cost society billions in climate change impacts. But BLM says it is powerless to slow the damage.
Biden’s climate plan aims to reduce methane emissions
Colorado groups say EPA rules are modeled after earlier state laws and local oil and gas interests already on board with similar changes.
Biden administration to gauge climate damage from federal oil and gas sales
The announcement comes as officials are set to hold lease sales in numerous Western states -- including Colorado -- next year amid a fierce debate over federal fossil fuel reserves
EPA unveils strategy to regulate toxic “forever chemicals”
The plan is intended to restrict PFAS from being released into the environment, accelerate cleanup of contaminated sites such as military bases and increase investments in research.
Fine against KP Kauffman for leaks and spills upped to second largest ever by Colorado oil and gas regulators
Denver-based operator is facing $2 million fine for 22 violations at 7 sites. Founder says low oil prices, regulators, other oil companies and landowners hampered efforts.
Colorado regulators move forward with controversial new rule to slash greenhouse gas emissions
“We can’t keep doing the same thing over and over” to cut oil and gas emissions, strategist says as first-in-the-nation “intensity target” regulation moves on to full hearing in December.
A new rule to slash oil and gas emissions appeals to the industry, but Colorado activists worry it won’t work
The proposed "intensity target" rule aims to slash carbon emissions from the oil and gas industry by 60%. But the targets are based on data that doesn’t exist.
Opinion: Colorado’s leadership on methane control is reducing greenhouse gases — and increasing jobs
Only one state has more employers devoted to methane mitigation
Colorado oil and gas company slapped with $1.6 million fine — one of the largest ever from state regulators
KP Kauffman, which operates 1,200 low-producing oil and gas wells on the Front Range, was sanctioned for a string of violations from improperly storing waste to failing to report and address spills
Nearly half of Colorado’s 52,000 wells produce little or no oil. Who’ll pay to plug them?
Rules are being drafted to cover the cost of cleaning up obsolete wells. But for rural farmers and suburban homeowners, idle pipes and pump jacks are a daily reminder of how complex and expensive the process is.
