Environmental Groups Urge Governor to Address Louisiana Orphan Wells

A coalition of environmental groups asked the governor on Monday to address the risks of thousands of abandoned oil and gas drilling sites scattered across the state’s vulnerable coastal wetlands and ecosystems.

The Rising Backlog and Coastal Strains

Data compiled by the LSU Center for Energy Studies and detailed in a report authored by Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney Rachel Mathews places the number of orphan wells in Louisiana at more than 6,300. That figure marks a climb from 4,900 orphan wells recorded in March 2025. These are wells whose current operators are unwilling or unable to plug them, leaving the state responsible for them.

“Louisiana should not have to clean up messes that are connected to some of the world’s richest oil corporations,” Rachel Mathews, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, expressed in a press statement accompanying the correspondence addressed to the state’s leader.

The communication delivered to the governor was jointly endorsed by the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, For a Better Bayou, Habitat Recovery Project, Healthy Gulf, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, Mossville Environmental Action Network, and Vessel Project of Louisiana. Among the total inventory, at least 724 sit in state coastal waters once owned by major oil companies, with some having changed hands through acquisitions.

The groups highlight an acute orphan well problem in the Barataria-Terrebonne estuary, which stretches across 16 parishes between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers. An analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity found 509 orphan wells and 3,231 inactive wells inside the estuary boundaries. Across the entire state, more than 22,000 wells sit inactive. Because firms face only nominal yearly fees of a few hundred dollars per inactive structure they leave idle, opponents point out that this economic model fails to encourage permanent sealing.

Financial Hurdles and Proposed Reforms

Under current state rules, exploration firms must submit written proof of resources to permanently shut down a well before obtaining a drilling permit. According to Louisiana Legislative Auditor calculations, plugging a well costs an average of $113,000. Multiplying that average across the current backlog yields a total estimated liability of nearly $712 million.

The state Department of Conservation and Energy oversees abandoned sites, permanently plugging about 125 wells per year based on LSU data. At that pace, erasing the current backlog without adding a single new site would take more than 50 years. LSU research shows the state held between $126 million and $250 million in combined state and federal funds for orphan well abatement as of July 2025.

The governor’s office and Department of Conservation and Energy officials did not respond to requests for comment before the deadline for the report. In their letter, the coalition urged the governor to meet and discuss specific policy adjustments:

Prioritize industry-funded plugging of offshore and coastal wells, which face high failure risks, carry the highest costs, and impede coastal restoration.
Develop a strategic plugging plan focused on priority oil and gas fields rather than individual wells.
Require former operators to plug wells before a site is formally declared orphaned.
Close the statutory loophole allowing operators to pay small annual inactive well fees instead of executing permanent plugs.
Halt the transfer of state drilling leases to or from companies carrying overdue well-plugging obligations.