Before the passage of SB 1150 during the 89th Legislative Session, oil, gas, and injection well operators were given several options in order to easily obtain unlimited plugging extensions. The new law requires operators to plug wells that have been inactive for over 15 years. It takes steps toward addressing the growing number of inactive wells across the state, but there are still exceptions operators can exploit.
Sign on to tell the Railroad Commission, the state oil and gas oversight agency, to close the loopholes and strengthen the rules when enforcing SB1150.
Limit Extensions: Operators should only be granted extensions in specific circumstances.
Make Sure Wells Are Safe: Independent checks, stronger testing requirements, and risk-based prioritization must all be in place to prevent environmental contamination and future well failures.
Stop Bad Transfers: Notify landowners of well ownership transfers, encourage full-cost bonding, and require certified analysis to prove wells are economically viable and operators have a track record of compliance.
Ensure Accountability and Transparency: Set high administrative penalties, establish a compliance score system and make low-scoring operators ineligible for extensions, and make data publicly available.
Inactive wells are oil, gas, or injection wells with an active operator that have been inactive — not producing oil and gas — for at least 12 months. These wells can become orphaned wells if their owner can’t be located or is bankrupt. Inactive and orphaned wells pose an increased risk to our environment, creating pathways for groundwater contamination and releasing gases like hydrogen sulfide and methane. The number of inactive and orphaned wells has been growing for decades, and industry plugging isn’t keeping pace.
Coming soon!
The Mineral Rights Action Network (MRAN) is a nationwide alliance of oil and gas mineral rights owners advocating for environmentally responsible stewardship of mineral rights.
Commission Shift is a Texas-based advocacy organization transforming the state oil and gas regulatory agency by working with and for the people of Texas to create pathways for shared governance.