Program tracker › Louisiana

Louisiana orphan well program

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

Federal orphan-well grants found
$108.3 million
4 awards, latest 2026-01-01
Total of reported plugging costs on file
$24.5 million
sum of 661 records; not a cost per well
Plugged wells on file
661
2023-01 to 2026-04

BModerate confidence

Median reported cost per well: $27,059, typical range $16,062 – $46,958; Typically within 40%. Full state page.

01002001212023Q12622023Q21392023Q3162023Q482024Q462025Q2142025Q3372025Q4482026Q1102026Q2
Plugged wells with a reported cost, by quarter of plug date (latest 12 quarters).

Estimated cost to plug the documented backlog

Louisiana lists about 4,786 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 $129.5 million (low $76.9 million, high $224.7 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.

Contractors

Companies on federal plugging contracts or subawards in Louisiana, from USAspending.gov: Olgoonik Construction Services Llc, Parliament Llc.

Bond rules: see bond amounts for Louisiana.

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

Cost by state: Louisiana · All states