Program tracker › Indiana

Indiana orphan well program

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

Federal orphan-well grants found
$14.1 million
1 award, latest 2024-07-01
Total of reported plugging costs on file
$23.4 million
sum of 414 records; not a cost per well
Plugged wells on file
414
2023-01 to 2025-04

BModerate confidence

Median reported cost per well: $48,768, typical range $30,874 – $88,560; Typically within 28%. Full state page.

050100312023Q1922023Q2782023Q3472023Q4502024Q1362024Q2312024Q3292024Q4182025Q122025Q2
Plugged wells with a reported cost, by quarter of plug date (latest 12 quarters).

Estimated cost to plug the documented backlog

Indiana lists about 1,238 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 $60.4 million (low $38.2 million, high $109.6 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.

Contractors

Companies on federal plugging contracts or subawards in Indiana, from USAspending.gov: Gwaltney Drilling Inc.

Bond rules: see bond amounts for Indiana.

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

Cost by state: Indiana · All states