Colorado oil and gas wells are constantly changing hands. Some risk becoming costly “orphans” along the way

Payne Institute Research Associate Brad Handler contributes to this article about how since 2017, more than 42,000 oil and gas properties have been bought or sold in Colorado. If they fall into the wrong hands, they risk ending up abandoned, leaving the state on the hook for cleanup.  Along the way there have been negotiations, a promised $1 million to the community, protests and lawsuits. In whose hands those wells and pipelines end up will determine if they are well run or turn into nuisances and environmental problems, and also whether they are properly plugged and abandoned when they no longer produce. January 19, 2022.