BY JOHN COX, Bakersfield.cox@bakersfield.com, Dec 5, 2023
The Sierra Club ratcheted up pressure on Kern County’s petroleum industry Tuesday by releasing a contentious report saying California policymakers should force oil companies to spend more money plugging idle oil wells. The report singled out three locally operating producers — Aera Energy LLC, California Resources Corp., and Chevron — it said earn adequate income but have not spent enough money properly retiring unused wells with the potential to cause pollution.
The companies countered that they have made substantial progress in recent years addressing idle wells, as required by state regulators. Industry trade groups, meanwhile, criticized the Sierra Club’s report as misleading.
Idle wells as an environmental issue gained greater attention last year after dozens of oil field facilities around Kern were found leaking methane at high rates in Bakersfield and Oildale. More were discovered leaking earlier this year in the Arvin and Lamont areas.
Earlier this year the state Legislature addressed the related issue of orphan wells, defined as idle facilities for which no responsible owner can be found. To make sure taxpayers don’t have to pay for future well plugging and remediation jobs, lawmakers passed a law increasing the amount of money companies have to post in the form of a bond when wells change hands.
But the Sierra Club, using Aera, CRC, and Chevron as examples, said more should be done to protect taxpayers and residents alike.
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