New Mexico's oil regulator put none of its leaking orphaned wells on its top-priority list and lost control of what it pays to plug them
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A June 2025 New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee evaluation found the Oil Conservation Division had scored only 271 of 702 orphaned wells (39%) under its own risk-ranking system and had not placed any in its top priority category, even though 27% of the 172 wells it tested were leaking methane above the federal reporting threshold. The LFC found OCD lacks systematic cost tracking, uses rate-sheet contracts with limited price competition, and had multiple plugging projects with change orders exceeding $1 million; at roughly 100 wells a year, clearing the inactive list would take more than 30 years, with state liability estimated at $700 million to $1.6 billion. In March 2026 three conservation groups sued the state, alleging it is failing to hold operators financially responsible; the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department said OCD takes its duties seriously.
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