The Institute said as Appalachian gas production continues to plateau, and the first fracking wells have reached retirement age, now is the time for transformational policy reform to ensure the oil & gas industry, rather than the public, pays for the growing cost of decommissioning the hundreds of thousands of legacy wells across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio
The total liability for the region’s 19,300 unplugged shale wells and 265,000 unplugged non-shale wells has climbed to nearly $40 billion, according to “Filling the Hole,” a new, two-part report from the Ohio River Valley Institute.
Yet existing financial assurance available from oil and gas companies to plug spent wells totals just $115 million, representing 0.3% of current liability from non-shale wells alone, according to Part I of the report.
To date, policy and enforcement have failed to compel well owners to fulfill their plugging obligations.
Part II of the report proposes a comprehensive policy solution to fund decommissioning of the region’s existing legacy well inventory and stem the proliferation of new orphaned wells without abating future drilling or disadvantaging smaller oil and gas companies.
Join co-authors co-authors Dwayne Purvis, Founder & Principal Advisor of Purvis Energy Advisors, and Senior Researcher Ted Boettner to learn more.
Click Here to register and for more information.
Visit the Ohio River Valley Institute website to learn more about this and other research initiatives.
PA Abandoned Shale Gas Wells
In Pennsylvania, DEP has issued over 107 notices of violation to shale gas drillers for abandoning their wells since 2023, and the pace of abandonments is picking up.
In 2023 DEP issued 20 violations and in 2024 DEP issued 47 violations.
Just three months into 2025, DEP has already issued 40 violations for abandoning shale gas wells to 10 shale gas drillers. Read more here.
The shale gas companies include-- Anegada Energy LLC; Apex Energy (PA) LLC; Blackhill Energy LLC; Diversified Production LLC; Diversified Production LLC; EQT ARO LLC; EQT Chap LLC; EQT Production Co.; Rice Drilling B LLC; Roulette Oil & Gas LLC; and Taft Operating LLC.
Leading the pack is Diversified Production, LLC which has been issued 31 violations for shale gas well abandonments by DEP. Read more here.
The abandonments include a cryptocurrency mining facility and associated shale gas wells in Elk County. Read more here.
Most of the shale gas wells receiving violations for abandonment were drilled in the beginning of shale gas operations in Pennsylvania-- from 2007 to 2012.
PA Abandoned Conventional Oil & Gas Wells
A December 2022 compliance report by DEP found conventional oil and gas well owners routinely abandoned their wells as a business practice and well abandonment was the most frequent violation issued by DEP. Read more here.
Since 2023, DEP has issued 1,518 notices of violation to conventional oil and gas well owners for abandoning their wells, and the pace of these abandonments is also picking up.
In 2023, DEP issued 512 violations and in 2024, DEP issued 860 violations.
Just three months into 2025, DEP has already issued 146 violations for abandoning conventional oil and gas wells to 46 well drillers. Read more here.
The companies and individuals abandoning wells include-- 3D Resources LLC ; Amer Natural Resources LLC; WB Anderson; Apollo Resources LLC; Baird Oil Co.; Bialy Gas Production LLC; Chris E. Burke; Edward E. & Frederick J. Craig; Crude A Co - Randy L. Larkin; Randy A. Dietterich; Diversified Production LLC; Equitrans LP; EQT Production Co.; Exotic Oil & Gas LLC; Keystone Crude LLC; Kiski Valley Gas Co.; Leechburg Gas Co.; Manufacturers Light & Heat Co; Mid East Oil Co.; MTN Energy; Charles E. Myers; Myers Gas; Niche Energy LLC; Oil & Gas MGMT Co. LLC; Ows Acquisition Co. LLC; PA Mineral SVCS LLC; PBS Coals Inc; Pencan Explorations Inc.; Iron Pennsylvania Land LLC; Pillar Energy PA, LLC; Pin Oak Energy Partners, LLC; Red Lion Gas Coop Assn; Reel Resources, Inc; Raymond Sawyer; Fred C. Scheel; SK Opr Inc.; Larry A. Shaffer Jr.; S R Star O&G LLC ; Stockman LLC; Stonehaven Energy MGT Co. LLC; Andrew F. Suchko; Thomas Thurma Jean; Timberline Energy, Inc.; Vessels Coal Gas Inc.; Washington Energy Co LLC; Ronald Wise; and Mary A. Woodring.
Conventional wells drilled before April 1985 are not required to be covered by any well plugging bonds.
Laura Legere of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in 2021 DEP had less than $15 per well available to plug active conventional oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania. [Read more here]
A 2023 report by the Environmental Defense Fund found Pennsylvania has 55,000 conventional oil and gas wells at high risk for abandonment and another 51,000 wells are at risk of being transferred to low solvency owners who do not have the resources to plug them. Read more here.
PA Attempts To Increase Well Bonding
Since 1984, the Environmental Quality Board has had the authority to review the adequacy of oil and gas well plugging bonding amounts every two years, but has never exercised that authority.
In November of 2021, the EQB accepted separate rulemaking petitions for study from environmental groups proposing to increase bond amounts for both conventional oil and gas and unconventional shale gas wells. Read more here.
In July 2022, the General Assembly passed and Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation into law taking away the EQB’s authority to review conventional oil and gas well bonding amounts for 10 years. Read more here.
It also modestly increased blanket bond amounts for an unlimited amount of wells. Wells drilled before April 1985 still were not required to be bonded.
The rulemaking petition to increase bonding for shale gas wells is still pending.
In August 2023, environmental groups filed a lawsuit in Commonwealth Court against the General Assembly and the Governor challenging the constitutionality of the law preventing the EQB from increasing bonding amounts for conventional oil and gas well owners. Read more here.
In October 2023, DEP tried to interest conventional oil and gas well owners in an alternative to bonding-- a “life insurance” concept for well plugging.
A private company-- One Nexus-- made a presentation to conventional well owners at a DCED PA Grade Crude [Oil] Development Advisory Council meeting suggesting an insurance model had more advantages than bonding to cover a well owner’s plugging obligations. Read more here.
The concept hasn’t gone anywhere.
(Photos: Shale gas wells issued violations by DEP for being abandoned.)
Resource Links:
-- House Hearing: Let’s Work Together To Make Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Practices Cleaner, Respect Property Rights, Protect Taxpayers And Prevent New Abandoned Wells [PaEN]
-- Conventional Oil & Gas Industry Still Fighting To Make Road Dumping Its Wastewater Legal; DEP Introduces Concepts Of A ‘Life Insurance Policy’ For Plugging Wells; Certified 3rd Party Inspectors [PaEN]
-- Lawsuit Filed Against General Assembly, Governor Challenges Constitutionality Of Law Preventing DEP From Protecting Public Health, Environment From Harm Caused By Abandoning Conventional Oil & Gas Wells [PaEN]
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - April 26 to May 2: Contaminated Livestock Water Supply; Ruptured Gathering Pipeline; Failure To Comply With Shale Gas Well Plugging Order [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - May 3 [PaEN]
-- DEP Received Air Quality Permit For 4.6 Gigawatt Homer City Generation Natural Gas Power Plant For Data Center In Indiana County [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 77 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In May 3 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- PA Senate Committee Meets May 7 On Bill To Punish Communities Taking Steps To Protect Their Residents From Health, Environmental Impacts Of Shale Gas Drilling [PaEN]
-- Ohio River Valley Institute May 6 Webinar To Announce New Report On The Growing Cost Of Plugging Thousands Of Shale Gas, Conventional Oil & Gas Wells [PaEN]
-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Continue To Push DEP To Legalize Road Dumping Their Wastewater [PaEN]
-- Consol Conventional Well Plugging Incident Contaminates A Livestock Water Supply, 2 Springs, Stream In Morris Twp., Greene County [PaEN]
-- Conventional Oil Well Storage Tank Rupture Causes 2,100 Gallon Spill Of Wastewater, Crude Oil In Upper Burrell Twp., Westmoreland County [PaEN]
-- EPA Will Hold May 6 Virtual Hearing On Proposed Permit For A Sandstone Development Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Lafayette Twp., McKean County [PaEN]
-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: Fracking Gas-Powered Cryptocurrency Mining Operation In PA Shuts Down Without A Word To Regulators, Site Found Abandoned
-- PJM Interconnection: 51 Generation Projects, 9.3 GW To Move Forward To Address Near-Term Electricity Demand Growth-- 39 Upgrades, 12 New Construction [PaEN]
-- Gov. Shapiro, CNX Resources Announce New Shale Gas Well Pad Air Monitoring Initiative [PaEN]
-- Environmental Defense Fund To Receive Dickinson College Rose-Walters Prize For Environmental Activism [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shapiro, CNX Expand Air Quality Monitoring At A Shale Gas Drilling Site In Washington County
-- TribLive: Proposed TECfusions Data Center To Use 2 Gigawatts Of Natural Gas-Fired Electric Generation In First Phases [‘No Health Effects’ To The Community From Burning Fossil Fuels]
-- PA Reps. Nelson, Mullens, Barton Announce Legislation To Accelerate Data Center Permitting
-- LevitttownNow.com: Waste Management Opens $131 Million Landfill Gas Facility In Falls Twp., Bucks County
-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: How Bucks County Landfill Produces Enough Gas To Power 63,000 Homes
-- Utility Dive: Electric, Gas Utilities Urge FERC To Launch Inquiry To Consider Natural Gas Pipeline Reliability Measures To Cope With Extreme Weather, Increased Demand
-- Grist.org: President Bypassing Community Input In US Army Corps Of Engineers Permits To Fast-Track Energy Projects That Risk Pollution
-- Financial Times: China Says It Can Live Without US Farm, Energy Goods [PA Exported $3.1 Billion In Farm Products To China In 2023]
-- Center For Biological Diversity: Federal Court Orders EPA To Reconsider Approval Of Unlimited Oil/Gas Fracking Air Pollution In Colorado
-- Courthouse News Service: Federal Court Finds EPA Overlooked Oil/Gas Fracking Emissions In Regulating Colorado Air Pollution
-- S&P Global: Reality Will Force President To Moderate US Energy ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Policies: Fmr FERC Chair
[Posted: May 2, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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