Program tracker › Wyoming

Wyoming orphan well program

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

Total of reported plugging costs on file
$16.1 million
sum of 1,124 records; not a cost per well
Plugged wells on file
1,124
2023-01 to 2025-10

AHigh confidence

Median reported cost per well: $5,590, typical range $5,051 – $15,448; Typically within 16%. Full state page.

0100200300292023Q11822023Q22752023Q31752023Q4882024Q11272024Q21082024Q3462024Q472025Q1102025Q2162025Q312025Q4
Plugged wells with a reported cost, by quarter of plug date (latest 12 quarters).

Estimated cost to plug the documented backlog

Wyoming lists about 790 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 $4.4 million (low $4.0 million, high $12.2 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 Wyoming, from USAspending.gov: Asrc Consulting & Environmental Services, Llc, Barnum Inc, Brice Solutions, Llc, Continental Industries Field Services, Llc, North Wind Site Services Llc, Welter Consulting, Inc., Wyodak Energy Services, Llc.

Bond rules: see bond amounts for Wyoming.

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

Cost by state: Wyoming · All states