How to read plugging cost data
Contract averages, single-well costs, medians and ranges: what the numbers on this site mean and what they do not.
Every number on this site is a reported cost of a publicly funded plugging job. Reading it correctly takes a few ideas.
Single-well costs and contract averages
Some agencies report a cost for each well; others report a contract total divided among wells. We count a contract average once, as one independent observation, so a big bundled contract cannot dominate a figure.
Median and range
The median is the middle cost: half of wells cost less. The typical range runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile. Averages are not shown because a few expensive wells distort them.
Confidence
Figures are published only if they held up on wells they were not computed from. "Typically within" says how far off the figure was on those wells. Otherwise the site shows "Insufficient data". Methodology.
What the numbers do not cover
Deep, horizontal and offshore wells, operator-funded jobs and quotes. See limitations.