{"id":23362,"date":"2022-05-31T23:14:05","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T05:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/to-understand-the-orphan-well-problem-in-n-m-someones-going-to-have-to-count-them\/"},"modified":"2022-06-01T05:14:05","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T05:14:05","slug":"to-understand-the-orphan-well-problem-in-n-m-someones-going-to-have-to-count-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/to-understand-the-orphan-well-problem-in-n-m-someones-going-to-have-to-count-them\/","title":{"rendered":"To understand the orphan well problem in N.M., someone\u2019s going to have to count them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Mike
Mike Eisenfeld with San Juan Citizens Alliance near an aging pumpjack in the Horseshoe Gallup Field. (Samuel Gilbert for Source NM)<\/span>Samuel Gilbert for Source NM<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The 50-square-mile stretch of public land known as Glade Run is described on the Bureau of Land Management\u2019s website as a \u201cgreat spot for the weekend warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glade Run is punctured by 600 oil and gas wells, connected by hundreds of access roads and an arterial network of buried gathering lines that leave unvegetated, eroded scars on the land.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not far from Mike Eisenfeld\u2019s home. He\u2019s the energy and climate program manager for the San Juan Citizens Alliance. He lives in Farmington, an agricultural community transformed into a center of oil and gas production.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should be reclaiming and revegetating well pads and pipeline rights of way,\u201d Eisenfeld said, driving past a cleared well pad, his voice sputtering as his truck traversed the washboard roads that have become a popular off-roading venue for locals. \u201cAnd cleaning up the mess you have created.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan infrastructure package last year with nearly $44 million to plug and reclaim orphaned oil and gas wells in New Mexico. The first round of funding is part of a nationwide push to address growing concerns over abandoned wells\u2019 environmental and health impacts \u2013 particularly the release of the potent greenhouse gas methane.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrphan wells are an enormous source of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 86 times more potent than CO2,\u201d\u202f wrote Sen. Martin Heinrich in an emailed statement to Source New Mexico. \u201cThese emissions have devastating impacts on our climate and the health of our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Total number of orphan wells identified by BLM? Zero<\/div>\n

According to the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division, the agency charged with regulating oil and gas production, 1,741 orphaned and abandoned wells have been identified so far on state and private land.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are continuing to work to refine the numbers, looking through well files and other available data,\u201d said Adrienne Sandoval, director of the division. Her agency plans to use drones and other technology to find more orphan wells sites. \u201cThat number is going to continue to fluctuate and possibly grow. We are gaining a better understanding of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

While many have lauded the move to identify and plug orphan wells, the true scope of the problem in New Mexico is still poorly understood. On federal lands in New Mexico \u2013 where the majority of oil and gas extraction takes place \u2013 the number of orphan wells is still unknown.<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Land Management leases oil and gas permits on such land. Through the agency\u2019s process of reviewing records and inspecting wells deemed high-priority, BLM has not identified any on federal lands in the largest oil and gas region in the state, according to a spokesperson.<\/p>\n

\"An
An overflowing waste container at an oil and gas collection site in the Horseshoe Gallup Field. (Samuel Gilbert for Source NM)<\/span>Samuel Gilbert for Source NM<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cBLM New Mexico is not aware of any federally managed orphaned wells residing under its administration within the state of New Mexico,\u201d wrote BLM\u2019s Allison Sandoval in an email to Source New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Eisenfeld said this is dubious, and that there are likely many on BLM land.<\/p>\n

Logan Glassenap, a staff attorney for the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know there is a problem. We don\u2019t know its scope,\u201d he said. In March, the alliance wrote a letter to BLM requesting an audit of all inactive oil and gas wells.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do know what it will take to get this under control,\u201d Glassenap said. \u201cBut the first step is to figure out how many there are.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the San Juan Basin \u2013 New Mexico\u2019s largest oil and gas region \u2013 there are nearly 40,000 wells located primarily on federal and tribal lands. Eisenfeld estimates there are likely thousands of wells in the region that, while not classified as orphaned, are \u201cin some state of neglect, idleness or abandonment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is bigger than anyone realizes,\u201d said Eisenfeld, piloting his gray Tacoma toward the Horseshoe Gallup Field in the Four Corners area of New Mexico, home to hundreds of non-producing wells. \u201cWe\u2019re at the cusp or really trying to assign liability and responsibility. That\u2019s a good thing, but this will not be an easy fix.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aging pumpjacks, miles of hose<\/div>\n

Eisenfeld first visited the Horseshoe Gallup Field after following a tip from a local rancher. The field is in a valley northwest of the San Juan Generating Station, the massive coal plant located in the Four Corners area of New Mexico. What Eisenfeld found was a landscape of aging oil and gas infrastructure, including 122 wells that have not produced oil or gas in at least five years, according to data from the Oil Conservation Division.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese wells pose numerous environmental threats,\u201d Eisenfeld said. \u201cThe government, as far as we can tell, considers these active sites and is not concerned about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judging by the state of some of the oil and gas infrastructure, five years seems like a low assessment of their age. The oil and gas field is littered with aging pumpjacks, exposed metal gas lines, and miles of rubber hoses carrying natural gas that mirror an expansive, ad hoc irrigation system braiding through the desert.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose hoses are not supposed to be permanent,\u201d said Eisenfeld, crossing an arroyo and driving up a small hill to a collection site where \u201cgathering\u201d lines from nearby wells feed into a series of storage tanks.<\/p>\n

The site appears unmaintained \u2013 rusted metal tanks and plastic barrels of chemicals with indiscernible labels bleached white from the sun. An overflowing waste container in one corner of the site emits a powerful smell of raw oil. These containers, according to Eisenfeld, are supposed to be emptied regularly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis personifies a dump zone,\u201d said Eisenfeld, standing between an old yellow tanker truck, tires exposed to the rims, and the oil-stained ground near the waste container.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an important question. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, nonproducing unplugged wells can leak \u201coil and other toxic chemicals\u201d that contaminate water sources, contribute to air pollution and emit methane, the main component of natural gas.<\/p>\n

The latter is of particular concern in the San Juan Basin, which has the highest concentration of methane pollution in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Understanding the true scope of the problem will be crucial in plugging wells, Glassenap said, and thus reducing methane emissions and environmental damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever funding might come from the infrastructure bill, we won\u2019t know how sufficient that funding is until we get an idea of the scope of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the OCD, 6,000 wells in New Mexico have not produced in more than a year, and 2,600 of those are on federal lands.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there were 10 of me, we could find thousands,\u201d Eisenfeld said, noting the limited resources of his organization.<\/p>\n

Where do we send the bill?<\/div>\n

Orphan wells are part of a larger \u201cculture of abandonment\u201d that has defined the oil and gas industry since oil was discovered in the region a century ago, Eisenfeld said.<\/p>\n

In that time, the San Juan Basin has experienced numerous boom-and-bust cycles, with companies coming and going with fluctuating demand. Companies frequently declare bankruptcy and renege on environmental obligations to plug wells.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith limited capital and the possibility of bankruptcy, oil and gas operators may not be able to plug wells and reclaim facilities effectively,\u201d said the OCD in 2020.<\/p>\n

Reclamation has been piecemeal and best. The industry has left an indelible mark on the landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a real problem. It\u2019s not just oil and gas but any extractive industry,\u201d Glassenap said. \u201cWe have legacy mines that remain a problem 100 years later. No one knows where to send the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more stories by SourceNM, visit sourcenm.com.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

infusion of federal cash to plug them fall short of the need?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[138],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-23362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-new-mexico"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23362"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=23362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}