We are landowners (surface only) with a "Temporarily Abandoned " old vertical well on our property that apparently has not produced since Nov. of 2023. How long do we have to wait to approach the well’s owner to plug the well and return the site back to it’s original state. We do not think the well itself is being monitored in any way.
What county is the well. If listed as abandoned, the state has control over the well. Because of the liability to the state it is monitored and inspected.
It’s in Reeves County. It’s listed as “temporarily abandoned” with no production reported since November of 2023.
This is a common problem. As long as some well is holding the lease, then the oil company can argue that it might reopen or remediate the well and put it back into production. RRC does not force the companies to plug these wells. And then if the lease is assigned to a company with no assets, then well becomes the problem of the state. I have seen nonproducing wells sitting for 20 years, so the wellbores have so degraded that they are unusable. But the lease or unit was still in effect. Then the lease was assigned to Company Zero and it disappeared or filed bankruptcy and now the wells sit on the state list, waiting to be plugged only when they are a total hazard. That said, you should feel free to contact the operator and ask about the well status and possibility of being plugged. And be sure to monitor the surface so you can file a complaint if the well starts to leak.