Our Chair will start the day by providing context on the orphan and idle well landscape, highlighting current challenges, cross-state priorities, and opportunities for collaboration and innovation across the US Southwest.

Explore the history of the Texas Railroad Commission’s state-managed plugging program, including state-managed program statistics, current Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) federally funded plugging project, and success stories.

Across the Southwest, orphan and idle wells in urban areas present both risks and opportunities. This session examines how former wellsites in disadvantaged and low-income neighborhoods can be safely reclaimed for the benefit of landowners and the public. The discussion will explore the intersection of environmental justice, public health, and economic revitalization, highlighting how state programs, project developers, municipalities, the carbon market, and grassroots coalitions are working together for positive land re-vitalization and improvement of biodiversity, including through projects where wells are plugged for purposes of eliminating emissions and generating carbon credits.

With over $150 million in new federal funding now flowing to Tribal orphan well programs, and the first carbon credits for methane reduction just issued this year, Tribes are stepping into a pivotal role in land restoration and climate finance. This session explores how Indigenous leaders are leveraging these developments to close dangerous wells, protect cultural heritage, and shape the next phase of carbon market participation.

Produced water injection is increasing subsurface pressure across many basins, raising new concerns about how these forces interact with unplugged or poorly plugged wells. In some cases, this pressure is contributing to fluid migration, threatening freshwater aquifers and causing surface breakthroughs. This session explores the hydrogeologic dynamics at play, the vulnerability of legacy wells, and the urgent need for better subsurface mapping and risk-based mitigation strategies.

Methane abatement projects are increasingly tied to emerging credit frameworks, creating both opportunities and challenges for operators and regulators. This session will explore how methane credits are being structured, verified, and deployed in connection with orphan and idle well programs. Discussion will focus on the role of industry champions, lessons from early projects, and strategies to strengthen the credibility and impact of these credit mechanisms.

Selecting the right well for funding depends on access roads, permitting timelines, seasonal constraints, and the quality of historical data. With new tools and software helping operators assess these variables, understanding what funders look for is more important than ever. This session explores how to identify, evaluate, and present marginal and idle wells that meet evolving program criteria.

Join facilitated roundtable discussions on a topic of your choice — a chance to share feedback, identify key challenges, and help shape industry recommendations moving forward.

1. Rulemaking considerations for SB 1150--new Texas law to limit well plugging extensions
   The Texas Legislature recently imposed new limits for well plugging extensions for older wells and offered new options for these wells to qualify for a plugging extension. This roundtable provides a brief overview of the current law, its deficiencies, and provisions of the new law, including the new options for plugging extensions.
   Julie Range, Commission Shift
    
2. Building a Workforce for Well Plugging and Reclamation
   Plugging orphan and idle wells creates direct employment opportunities across the Southwest, from field crews and equipment operators to monitoring and reclamation specialists. This roundtable will examine how well remediation programs can drive local job growth, support workforce development, and strengthen regional economies.
   Megan Biven, True Transition

Offshore decommissioning presents a complex set of environmental, technical, and financial challenges. This session will delve into the latest strategies and best practices for managing offshore infrastructure end-of-life, focusing on sustainable decommissioning practices, regulatory requirements, and risk management. Gain insights into the innovative approaches that can help minimize environmental impact while maximizing the value of decommissioned assets.

As one of the most active states in this space, New Mexico offers insight into how state leadership, regulatory alignment, and cross-agency coordination can accelerate environmental and economic outcomes. The session will highlight recent progress and outline key priorities for sustained impact across the Southwest.

This session highlights Texas policy developments with implications across the Southwest. Discussion will cover workforce impacts of SB1150, emerging rulemaking priorities, research on legacy wells and CCS, and comparative approaches to orphan and idle well management. The session will outline regulatory innovations, implementation challenges, and new opportunities at the intersection of energy infrastructure and clean energy transition.

Orphan and idle well programs rely on collaboration—but too often, key voices are left out. This session explores how to better engage diverse stakeholders, including Indigenous communities, local governments, and underrepresented groups. We'll look at tools, technologies, and practical strategies that can strengthen trust and deliver better outcomes across the Southwest.

Carbon credits could help fund orphan well cleanup—but today’s market is fragmented, small-scale, and hard to access. This session dives into key hurdles: registry bottlenecks, outdated methodologies, and the gap between state and voluntary markets. We’ll also look at what’s next, from digitized tracking to smarter standards that can unlock scale across the Southwest.

The U.S. Geological Survey is building one of the most comprehensive national views of orphan and idle wells—bringing consistency to fragmented state-level data by examining the impacts orphan wells have on groundwater and improving emission measurements in the field. This session will explore recent findings from the USGS Orphan Wells Project, including regional trends, mapping tools, and the intersection of science and remediation planning. We'll also look at how these insights can support more effective federal and state coordination.

Learn how the U.S. Department of the Interior is strategically allocating federal funding to address orphan and idle wells. This session will explore interagency coordination, priority-setting strategies, and real-world results from funded projects.

Digitalization can benefit decommissioning projects in all project phases. The panel will discuss how digital tools reduce cost and risks, from the initial appraisal to the actual execution of the decommissioning.

Incomplete planning is the leading cause of decommissioning projects running over budget and behind schedule. This session will present a proven method to strengthen the planning process, helping teams reduce risk, improve cost control, and ensure timely project delivery.

This session explores how carbon markets can support the repurposing of orphan and idle wells, particularly through nature-based solutions and soil carbon sequestration. As demand for verified offsets grows, these sites present new opportunities for long-term environmental and economic value. The session will examine technical frameworks, market access, and the safeguards needed to ensure credibility and community benefit.

This session examines approaches to orphan well identification and plugging, with a focus on collaboration, stewardship, and lessons from projects along the Arkansas River.