Group Questions Oil and Gas Bond Amounts

By Kristin Espeland

Laramie, WY – Members of a coalition of western community groups say most oil and gas companies aren't putting up nearly enough bond money to cover the true cost of restoring or reclaiming abandoned well sites. Mining engineer and consultant Jim Kuipers says some oil and gas producers make sound environmental arrangements. But Kuipers says the majority have little incentive to put up enough money to completely reclaim sites. And it could be years before the footprints of many old well sites are wiped clean. In June the government office of accountability reported that nearly one thousand abandoned well sites in Wyoming were still waiting for a final reclamation inspection.