The number of orphaned oil and gas wells in Louisiana is growing, with the state agency in charge of addressing them unable to keep pace, according to a recent report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.

Orphaned wells are inactive wells that have no known owner or operator who can plug them. When these wells remain unplugged, they can provide pathways for oil, gas, chemicals, or extremely salty wastewater to flow to the surface or contaminate groundwater supplies.

From July 2013 to April 2024, the number of orphaned wells in Louisiana has increased more than 68 percent – from 2,826 to 4,785. This is despite the state plugging an average of 257 orphaned wells per year from the 2020 through 2023 fiscal years.

The number of inactive wells, which have a higher risk of being orphaned, has also increased 21.7 percent from August 2019 to April 2024, the report states.

The auditor also found that Louisiana’s Office of Conservation, which is responsible for plugging wells, is legally blocked from collecting enough funding through its Oilfield Site Restoration Program to adequately address the problem.

Auditor staff estimate it would take $542.9 million to address the “current population” of orphaned wells, but state law requires that the state stop collecting fees on oil and gas production if the Oilfield Site Restoration Program fund exceeds $14 million.

The findings are particularly concerning with Louisiana reviewing applications for dozens of carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration wells in the state, intended to permanently store CO2 underground and prevent it from reaching the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. Orphaned wells located too close to proposed CO2 sequestration wells can provide a pathway for CO2 to leak to the surface or contaminate groundwater.