Texas’s Tiny-Well Problem: Landowners and Regulators Grapple with Aging Assets

Across Texas, thousands of aging wells produce little oil to stay active, leaving landowners like Jackie Chesnutt facing spills and pollution on their property while regulators contend with reporting gaps and a growing backlog of orphan wells. The case at CORE Petro, which Chesnutt accuses of noncompliance, highlights how some operators keep wells marginally productive to avoid plugging costs. State rules and reporting can be inconsistent, and funding and policy changes—involving bonding reforms, Senate Bill 1150, and Inflation Reduction Act grants—are intended to accelerate plugging and reduce public risk, but the legacy of stripper wells and limited enforcement continues to pose environmental and financial challenges for landowners.