California Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, And Geothermal Resources: Orphan Well Program

摘要

The California Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (Division) supervises the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of wells so as to prevent, as far as possible, damage to life, health, property, and natural resources. One of the Division’s many programs involves orphan well elimination. A well is orphaned when the operator is defunct or when the Division determines through the formal order process that it is deserted. The California Public Resources Code allows, with the consent from the mineral rights owner and the Division, a different operator the opportunity to evaluate an orphan well’s potential and to acquire ownership. In cases where an orphan well is not acquired by a viable operator and has been determined to be a public nuisance or hazardous, the Division can contract to have it permanently plugged and abandoned. The Division is funded through an assessment on oil and gas production, which also includes funding for the abandonment of orphan wells. This paper will discuss the California Public Resource Codes (PRC) related to orphan wells, the process to declare a well orphaned, the procedures to allow an operator to acquire an orphan well, abandonment funding, the selection process for wells to be abandoned, State competitive bid abandonment contract requirements, abandonment project planning and oversight, several case studies, and the Division’s orphan well program accomplishments.