The County of Los Angeles is suing four oil companies for failing to plug and decommission exhausted oil wells in the Inglewood Oil Field. The lawsuit against Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC, Freeport-McMoran Oil & Gas LLC, Plains Resources, Inc., and Chevron alleges that the wells released “toxic pollutants into the air, land, and water and present unacceptable dangers to human health, safety, and the environment.”
The complaint states that 157 of the 581 unplugged wells in the Inglewood Oil Field are “idle” and 70 other wells are “exhausted.” These wells, the complaint alleges, “continue to emit toxins into the surrounding community and environment and to otherwise inflict the harms set forth in this Complaint.”
An idle well is one that has not been used for at least two years and has not yet been plugged and abandoned in a process that permanently seals the well. An exhausted well is an oil well that yields an average daily production equal to or less than two barrels of oil over the prior two years.
The complaint alleges that these companies have “profited from its oil and gas operations” without paying to retire the wells. “Defendants have left hundreds of unplugged, exhausted wells that harm the environment and the health of people living nearby and threaten to saddle taxpayers with an environmental cleanup bill that could total hundreds of millions of dollars,” the county alleges.
These companies “have unfairly and unjustly enriched themselves by refusing to properly decommission their exhausted wells, prioritizing their profits over responsibly operating” the oil field.
The county seeks injunctive relief to require Sentinel to plug the wells and pay for the harms caused by the pollution from the wells. It also seeks civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each well that is in violation of the law.
California’s Policy on Idle Wells
According to the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM), there are more than 37,000 known idle wells in California. These wells can leak hydrocarbons or other contaminants into underground drinking water or to the surface.
In addition to environmental and health concerns, idle wells pose a financial risk to the state if they are deserted by an insolvent operator. In this case, an idle well becomes an “orphan well,” and the state often takes the responsibilities and costs for decommissioning the well.
In 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 1167, which requires individuals or companies to take greater upfront financial responsibility for plugging and abandoning wells. Under the law, the full cost of plugging and abandoning wells must be financially assured before CalGEM can approve the transfer of a well.