CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Gov. Matt Mead says the state needs to increase its efforts to plug abandoned coal-bed methane wells.
About 1,200 so-called orphaned wells in the Powder River Basin were left after some operators went bankrupt following a crash in natural gas prices, leaving the state to close down the well and clean up the well site.
The state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission closed 183 between 2004 and 2013. In December, Mead announced a plan to plug around 300 wells in each of the next four years. Commission officials said recently that 67 wells are ready to be plugged and another 140 are going out to bid.
Mead tells the Casper Star-Tribune (https://bit.ly/1hsqvcr) that progress is being made but he believes more can be done.
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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, https://www.trib.com
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