Keep pulling the thread on Sarah Armitage.
There are an estimated 2 million abandoned and unplugged oil and gas wells across the United States.
An additional 300,000 to 800,000 oil and gas wells in the United States are believed to be orphaned but have not yet been fully documented.
Excluding internal reorganizations and large corporate mergers, approximately 8% of oil and gas wells in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Colorado are transferred to a new operator in a typical year.
In a study covering California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Colorado, oil and gas wells transferred after age 15 were found to be less likely to be plugged 5 to 10 years after the transfer.
Research indicates that aging oil and gas wells in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Colorado that are transferred to smaller operators are especially less likely to be plugged after the transfer.
Recent estimates place the number of known orphaned oil and gas wells in the United States at approximately 120,000.
Researcher Judd Boomhauer has documented evidence of the 'judgment-proof problem' among oil and gas well operators in Texas.
Large oil and gas majors, such as BP, are more likely to pay for their environmental liabilities rather than closing down operations.
The average oil and gas well in a four-state study is sold to a new operator once every 13 years.
In a study of wells in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Colorado, wells with expected future revenue below the 75th percentile were more likely to be transferred to buyers that were smaller than the sellers.
A study of well transfers in four US states found no evidence of meaningful increases in production volumes for aging wells after they are transferred to new operators.
Several U.S. states are exploring policy reforms that would require increased financial assurance at the point when an oil or gas well is transferred to a new operator.