HB3416: New oil and Gas Well Plugging Assurance Act

Legislative Summary

The purpose of this bill is to prevent new horizontally drilled oil and gas wells that in the future have ceased production with no bona fide future use from remaining unplugged after they have not produced for a continuous period of 12 months and prevent them from becoming orphaned on a surface owner's land with no responsible driller or operator with the resources to plug the well. The bill requires new wells to either post an individual single-well, full-cost plugging bond, or in the alternative to start at the beginning of production to set aside money in an earnings bearing escrow account in a bank to pay itself to plug the well at the end of the well's life. The escrow provisions are based on West Virginia Coalbed Methane Review Board CBM pooling orders and their master escrow agreement attachments. It does not make any changes in bonding requirements for wells that have already been drilled or permitted.