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2025 Updates
Project PLUG Work Updates: West Hills (Canoga Park)
September 10, 2025: West Hills Community Meeting – Plugging & Sealing Wells
An in-person community meeting will be held September 10, 2025, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm for residents of the West Hills area to learn about upcoming work on 6 oil wells that will be plugged and sealed in the neighborhood. Please submit your questions and/or RSVP here: https://forms.office.com/g/J9zZDCg3q9
August 11, 2025: The INITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION for the Permanent Sealing of Orphan Wells in Canoga Park has been released for Public Review. The project consists of the State of California's plugging and abandoning (P&A) of six (6) orphan wells in the inactive CalGEM-designated Canoga Park oil field (private land, no longer an active oil field), within unincorporated Los Angeles County. A portion of the Project site (where access road improvements would occur) is located within the City of Los Angeles. PDF Linked
Project PLUG Work Updates: AllenCo
August 1, 2025: To date, the Department of Conservation (DOC) and contractor, Driltek has plugged 11 of the 21 “Saint James” drill site wells. Other wells have had some partial abandonment completed, but these wells are still undergoing observation before completing those abandonments. The project is expected to be completed by second quarter of 2026 calendar year.
State Oil and Gas Well Abandonment Expenditure Plan - Phase 3 (Planning Phase)
August 2025: CalGEM is currently in the process of creating a Phase 3 set of wells for plugging. These wells are projected to start at the completion of Phase 2.
2024
Project PLUG Work Updates: AllenCo
December 12, 2024: Starting in late December 2024, the Department of Conservation (DOC) and contractor, Driltek, will permanently close 20 oil and gas wells at the Allen Co Energy "Saint James" drill site in Los Angeles. This plan provides community members with essential information about work schedules, safety measures, and emergency contacts. After completion, all oil and gas operation hazards will be removed from the site.
State Oil and Gas Well Abandonment Expenditure Plan - Phase 2
October 2024: CalGEM released the final Phase 2 State Abandonment Expenditure Plan on Thursday, October 14, 2024. The plan includes the second phase of orphan wells proposed for permanent plugging and sealing using state and federal funds. All public comments received were considered for incorporation into the plan.
Project PLUG Work Updates: AllenCo
October 7, 2024:The Department of Conservation held a public Zoom/In-Person hybrid meeting on the work to permanently plug and seal oil wells at the AllenCo site.
September 24, 2024
The Department of Conservation held a webinar to provide the public with an update on the project timeline. This project was initially scheduled to
begin this summer. Unfortunately, additional documentation is necessary to meet federal approval requirements, which has pushed out the timeline. Based on the current projection, work is anticipated to begin in the 4th quarter of 2024 (October-December).
State Oil and Gas Well Abandonment Expenditure Plan - Phase 2
July 16, 2024: CalGEM released its Phase 2 State Abandonment Draft Expenditure Plan on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. during a virtual public meeting. The draft plan includes the second phase of orphan wells proposed for permanent plugging and sealing using state and federal funds. The 45-day public comment period ended August 19, 2024. All public comments received will be considered for incorporation into the plan.
Abandonment Projects
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Oxnard and AllenCo meetings: Public meetings were held mid-June in Oxnard and Los Angeles (AllenCo) to answer questions or concerns. The meetings were held in English and in Spanish.
- Oxnard Community Meeting, June 18, 2024 - PowerPoint (PDF)
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Reunion Comunitaria de Oxnard, Martes, Junio 18, 2024 - PowerPoint (PDF)
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Los Angeles Community Meeting, June 24, 2024 - PowerPoint (PDF)
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Reunion Comunitariaen Los Angeles, Lunes, Junio 24, 2024 - PowerPoint (PDF)
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Kern and Arvin Community Meetings: Wells in the Kern County have been prioritized to be plugged and permanently sealed. Public meetings were held mid-May in Bakersfield and Arvin to answer any questions or concerns. Contracts for this work have been completed and work in the Arvin area can now begin.
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Contact information: (916) 214-5731 or sarah.rubin@conservation.ca.gov
October 17, 2023: CalGEM released its final State Oil and Gas Well Abandonment Expenditure plan on Tuesday, October 17, at 5:30 p.m. during a virtual public meeting. The plan includes the Department’s initial list of orphan wells it will permanently plug and seal using state and federal funds.
July 18, 2023: CalGEM released its
State Abandonment Draft Expenditure Plan on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. during a virtual public meeting. The draft plan includes the initial list of orphan wells proposed for permanent plugging and sealing using state and federal funds. The release began a 45-day public comment period that ended on October 4, 2023. All comments received will be considered for incorporation into the regulations.
For contractors performing public works plugging and abandonment services, CalGEM has provided various resources and documents to help ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and other requirements.
Key Facts
- California's crude oil production has declined steadily in the last few decades, increasing the number of nonproductive, or “idle", wells throughout California.
- CalGEM maintains an idle well management regime that includes the most rigorous testing standards in the country and collects fees that can be used to fund the plugging and abandonment of deserted and orphan wells—wells that likely do not have a responsible, solvent operator to appropriately plug and abandon the well, leaving their proper abandonment to the State.
- Currently there are over 37,000 known idle wells in California, all of which will eventually come to their end of life, and their operators will be required to plug the wells and decommission associated production facilities.
- The state has also documented over 17,000 wells that have been idle for over 15 years and over 5,000 wells that are orphan, deserted, or potentially deserted wells. Left un-remediated, these wells and facilities can contaminate waterways and soil, serve as a source of climate and air pollutants, and can present physical hazards to people and wildlife.
- CalGEM may determine the status of a well as deserted based upon specific criteria laid out in the PRC. Evidence of desertion under the PRC includes, but is not limited to, failure to pay idle well fees, the operational history of the well or production facility, the response or lack of response of the operator to inquiries and requests from CalGEM, the extent of compliance by the operator with the requirements, and other actions.
State Abandonment Authority
The Public Resources Code (PRC) provides various presumptions and circumstances under which CalGEM may find that a well has been deserted. If CalGEM determines a well has been idle-deserted, then CalGEM may order the plugging and abandonment of the well. If an operator fails to rebut such presumptions and fails to commence the ordered work, then CalGEM may undertake the plugging and abandonment of the well. CalGEM's options for funding the plugging and abandonment differs depending upon the solvency of the operator.
- CalGEM may find a well to be deserted, and therefore order the well plugged and abandoned, based upon credible evidence. Credible evidence that a well has been deserted includes, but is not limited to, the operational history of the well, the response or lack of response from the operator to inquiries and requests from CalGEM, the extent of compliance by the operator, and other actions of the operator with regards to the well. If such evidence exists, CalGEM may order the plugging and abandonment of the well.
- CalGEM may order to be carried out or undertake the abandonment of a well CalGEM determines to be a hazardous or an idle-deserted well under PRC section 3255. A hazardous well is a “well that is a potential danger to life, health, or natural resources and for which there is no operator responsible for its plugging and abandonment." To order or undertake the abandonment of a well under PRC section 3255, a well must not only be deserted - it must also be orphan. CalGEM must assess the financial resources of the operator and determine there is no operator with the financial resources to fully cover the cost of plugging and abandoning the well.
