States › New Mexico

Cost to plug an oil or gas well in New Mexico

Reported costs of publicly funded well plugging in New Mexico, 2022 to 2026.

Median cost per well

$132,792

B held-out error 31%

Typical range

$74,508 – $323,520

10th to 90th percentile; held 76% of held-out wells

Wells on file

217

217 independent observations, 2022-11 to 2026-06

Mix effect: 77% of the wells on file in New Mexico are oil wells, most of them in Chaves, Lea and Eddy counties. The statewide median mainly describes those wells; use the well-type rows below for anything else.

Estimate a well in New Mexico

By well type

Light bar: 10th to 90th percentile. Dark bar: middle half. Tick: median. Only graded well types are drawn.

Well type	Median per well	Typical range (10th–90th pct.)	Grade	Wells	Held-out error
Gas well	—	—	Insufficient data	8	—
Injection or disposal well	—	—	Insufficient data	42	—
Oil well	$140,684	$75,103 – $323,520	B	167	32%

By depth

Depth band	Median per well	Typical range (10th–90th pct.)	Grade	Wells	Held-out error
1,000-2,999 ft	—	—	Insufficient data	31	—
3,000-5,999 ft	—	—	Insufficient data	35	—
6,000 ft and deeper	—	—	Insufficient data	11	—

By year plugged

Wells with a reported plugging cost, by year plugged.

Year	Median per well	Typical range (10th–90th pct.)	Grade	Wells	Held-out error
2022	—	—	Insufficient data	5	—
2023	$114,156	$74,297 – $248,022	B	133	25%
2025	—	—	Insufficient data	12	—
2026	$170,588	$121,162 – $404,159	B	65	22%

Cost index for New Mexico

Year	Index (2023 = 100 where 2023 is on file, otherwise first year)	Grade	Wells
2022	—	Insufficient data	5
2023	—	Insufficient data	133
2024	—	Insufficient data	2
2025	—	Insufficient data	12
2026	—	Insufficient data	65

Counties with a graded estimate

County	Median per well	Typical range (10th–90th pct.)	Grade	Wells	Held-out error
Chaves	$116,054	$75,534 – $232,253	B	137	28%

Contractors active

Insufficient data The cost records carry no contractor names, and no contractor list with terms that allow commercial use is available for this state.

Receipts

Every figure on this page is computed from public records you can inspect:

Well-level records for New Mexico in the US Department of the Interior Orphaned Wells Program Office data layer (well identifier, county, type, reported cost, date).
Orphaned Wells Program maps and data, US Department of the Interior.

Costs are as reported by the grant recipient. 100% of the records here are a cost for one well; the rest are contract or lease averages. See limitations.

Data through 2026-06-30. Sample sizes are the wells behind each figure. Grades come from held-out tests, not in-sample fit: A needs 200+ independent cost observations and a held-out error of 25% or less; B needs 60+ and 40% or less. Anything weaker is shown as Insufficient data. How grading works.

Some figures here are withheld because the data is too thin to grade. If you hold actual plugging costs, report a plugging cost. Reports are reviewed before any use.