# Lawmakers Introduce Orphaned Wells Act

On October 2, 2026, six lawmakers introduced the Stop Orphaned Wells Act, proposing to require oil and gas operators to provide financial assurance and pay for cleanup of wells they abandon. One signal reports more than 140,000 documented orphaned wells nationwide, including over 15,000 on federal lands. The bill has not created a solicitation, contract award, or new funding opportunity; if enacted, its requirements could affect oil-and-gas leasing and increase demand for well plugging, remediation, and reclamation services.

- The proposed financial-assurance and cleanup requirements could shift more well-remediation costs to operators rather than taxpayers and affect the economics of aging oil and gas assets.
- Contractors providing plugging, remediation, and reclamation services may find future work as operators meet cleanup responsibilities, but the signals identify no procurement timeline or funding amount.
- Because the measure is proposed legislation, not a current mandate, contractors should track its legislative status and related agency rulemaking before treating it as a compliance requirement or actionable contract opportunity.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Energy & Utilities, Environment
**Topics:** Regulatory Compliance, Policy
**Published:** October 03, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Congress (Congress)
- U.S. Senate (Senate)
- U.S. House of Representatives (House)
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

### Key Quotes
> The Stop Orphaned Wells Act ensures that companies set aside money to meet their cleanup responsibilities, so taxpayers aren’t left paying the bill.
> — Martin Heinrich, U.S. Senator

> Capping wells creates jobs and lowers pollution. It’s a win-win.
> — John Hickenlooper, U.S. Senator

> The Stop Orphaned Wells Act would strengthen bonding and cleanup requirements and prevent companies from using the sale of aging wells to avoid their cleanup obligations.
> — Josh Axelrod, Senior Program Advocate at NRDC

### Sources
- [Ansari, Bennet, Padilla, Hickenlooper, Schiff, Luján Introduce Legislation to Protect Public Lands and Taxpayers from Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells | U.S. House Representative Yassamin Ansari](https://ansari.house.gov/media/press-releases/ansari-bennet-padilla-hickenlooper-schiff-lujan-introduce-legislation-to-protect-public-lands-and-taxpayers-from-orphaned-oil-and-gas-wells) - Ansari
- [Bennet, Ansari, Padilla, Hickenlooper, Schiff, Luján Introduce Legislation to Protect Public Lands and Taxpayers from Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells - U.S. Senator Michael Bennet](https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/10/02/bennet-ansari-padilla-hickenlooper-schiff-lujan-introduce-legislation-to-protect-public-lands-and-taxpayers-from-orphaned-oil-and-gas-wells/) - Bennet Senate
- [NEWS: Schiff, Padilla, Bennet, Ansari, Hickenlooper, Luján Introduce Legislation to Protect Public Lands and Taxpayers from Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells](https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/news-schiff-padilla-bennet-ansari-hickenlooper-lujan-introduce-legislation-to-protect-public-lands-and-taxpayers-from-orphaned-oil-and-gas-wells/) - Schiff Senate