Some of the world's most profitable oil companies have left a growing toxic mess and want Californians to foot the bill to clean it up.
California’s idle and orphan well crisis is getting worse, creating serious health and safety crises for local communities. These wells also fuel the climate crisis.
Three oil companies are responsible for 68% of the idle wells problem and have the money to clean up their wells: Chevron, Aera Energy, California Resources Corporation.
Orphan Wells
Orphan wells are those determined to have no financially viable operator to clean them up, leaving the state responsible to plug and remedying them.
Idle Wells
An idle well is “any well that for a period of 24 consecutive months has not produced oil or natural gas, produced water to be used in production stimulation, or been used for enhanced oil recovery, reservoir pressure management, or injection.”
$147.3 Billion
2022 profits of top three companies and their predecessor owners or parent companies
It would take just a small percentage of these companies’ profits from 2022 alone to clean up these toxic wells.
