Writers on the Range: Chronicle of an abandoned oil and gas well — one of millions

Denver Post

Center

High Factuality

Private Equity: Alden Global Capital

How taxpayers got stuck with the bill for one abandoned oil and gas well — one of millions

Even from a distance it’s clear that an oil and gas well called “State Senate #2” in New Mexico has seen better days. The pumpjack sits idle, tumbleweeds surround the once-moving parts, and the earth smells of crude saturating the soil. According to state records, this well last produced oil in 2007, and even then, it was at a rate of about 25 to 50 barrels per year. Though the state inexplicably lists the well’s status as “active,” it’s not. An…