Program tracker › Illinois

Illinois orphan well program

Funding, wells plugged and contractors for Illinois's orphan well program, from public federal records.

Federal orphan-well grants found
$19.0 million
1 award, latest 2022-10-01
Total of reported plugging costs on file
$27.3 million
sum of 783 records; not a cost per well
Plugged wells on file
783
2022-10 to 2026-06

AHigh confidence

Median reported cost per well: $36,649, typical range $8,148 – $49,088; Typically within 17%. Full state page.

050100792023Q2832023Q3772023Q4592024Q1292024Q2492024Q3172024Q472025Q2302025Q3652025Q4672026Q11102026Q2
Plugged wells with a reported cost, by quarter of plug date (latest 12 quarters).

Estimated cost to plug the documented backlog

Illinois lists about 3,946 documented orphan wells (documented orphan wells, as of 2023-12-31; IOGCC Idle and Orphan Oil and Gas Wells (2024), state-reported). Multiplied by the published cost per well, that is roughly $144.6 million (low $32.2 million, high $193.7 million). This is an estimate built from the published figures, not a program estimate; the wells left are not necessarily like the wells already plugged. Methodology.

Bond rules: see bond amounts for Illinois.

Sources: US Department of the Interior Orphaned Wells Program data, USAspending.gov. Grant amounts are those found for Illinois and may be incomplete. Limitations.

Cost by state: Illinois · All states