DEP reaches deal to address 1,400 abandoned gas wells in state
The state Department of Environmental Protection has settled with two oil and gas producers in a more than $7 million deal that requires them to address abandoned conventional wells across Western Pennsylvania.
The consent order and agreement with Alabama-based Diversified Gas & Oil and its subsidiary, Alliance Petroleum Co., involves violations at wells in 23 counties and requires them to either seal or return to production 1,412 of them, including more than 300 in Greene, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
The settlement also orders the companies to place the $7 million in surety bonds for the abandoned wells and another $20,000 to $30,000 bond for each abandoned or nonproducing oil and gas well acquired in the future, according to the consent order agreement announced Monday.
There are 53 such nonproducing wells in Washington County and another 26 in Greene County. There are another 139 affected wells in Fayette County and 104 in Westmoreland County.
The agreement gives the companies various timelines to plug a certain number of the wells or bring them back into production. The first deadline is at the end of 2023, but the entire process could stretch into 2038.
The companies are being required to submit regular progress reports to the DEP. They face daily fines for wells that are not plugged or put back into production before the deadlines.
鈥淭his agreement is a win for the commonwealth because it ensures that over 1,400 oil and gas wells are properly maintained or plugged and that these operators, not Pennsylvania citizens, bear the full cost of operating or plugging them,鈥� DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said.
This is the second time in less than eight months that the state has ordered Alliance to plug abandoned wells in accordance with the state蘑菇视频 2012 Oil and Gas Act. In March, the DEP reached an agreement with the company to plug 638 wells in a similar consent order.
Diversified Gas & Oil of Birmingham, Ala., purchased much of Southpointe-based CNX蘑菇视频 shallow well assets for $85 million last February. Diversified also acquired much of Alliance蘑菇视频 conventional well assets for $95 million in the transaction.
Representatives with Diversified could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The DEP-approved method of plugging conventional wells, which are typically 2,000 to 3,000 feet deep, includes removing the old well casing, filling that void with cement to seal it and prevent freshwater from penetrating the hole and then pouring a nonporous material into the rest of the well.
Pennsylvania has more 8,000 鈥渙rphaned and abandoned鈥� oil and gas wells on its inventory, the DEP said, and estimates there could be as many as 100,000 to 560,000 more such 鈥渓egacy wells鈥� in the state that are still unaccounted for today.