Plugging Orphan Wells in OH, PA More Complicated Than Just Money

In the fall of 2021, President Biden signed into law the so-called Infrastructure Bill, some $1.2 trillion in pork barrel spending, passed with the help of turncoat Republicans (see Biden So-Called $1.2T Infrastructure Bill Passes Thanks to RINOs). Only about 9% of the $1.2 trillion will go to actual infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. One of the line items in the bill (so small it’s a rounding error) is money to plug orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells. A small amount of money was distributed last fall, a year after the bill became law (see PA DEP Solicits Bids to Plug First 50 Orphaned Wells Using Fed $$). Finally, after two years of waiting, the Bidenistas issued the next round of money in July — some $660 million in total, of which $163 million (or 25%) went to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia (see Bidenistas Dispense $163 Million to Plug Old O&G Wells in OH-PA-WV). It turns out that just throwing money at the problem doesn't fix it. There is a long list of challenges before an old well gets plugged.

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