Railroad Commission of Texas Chairman Jim Wright issued the following statement regarding the announcement by the U.S. Department of the Interior to streamline and improve the federal Orphaned Wells State Formula Grant Program:
“Today’s announcement by the Department of the Interior is a win for common sense governance,” wrote Chairman Wright. “As I wrote last November, the significant hurdles and bureaucracy inherent in the orphaned well plugging program under the Biden Administration resulted in increased plugging costs and significantly delayed well plugging. The revisions announced today will do much to streamline the program and ensure taxpayer funds are used efficiently to plug as many orphaned wells as possible.
“I appreciate the thoughtful work of the Trump Administration and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to cut through the red tape and allow the Railroad Commission to utilize its world-renowned well plugging expertise,” Wright concluded.
