During a Senate committee meeting, a top official from the nation’s largest gas and oil well owner touted the company’s work cleaning up abandoned gas wells and reducing methane emissions. And lawmakers seemed pleased with what they heard.
Paul Espenan, Diversified Energy Company’s vice president of environmental, health and safety, told lawmakers on the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee Thursday about the company’s emissions detection program and efforts to use unproductive wells.
“We are a very committed, responsible, stewardship-oriented company that cares about West Virginia and invests in West Virginia,” Espenan said.
The committee members asked Espenan a range of questions, including about the company’s emissions detection program, the number of jobs it supports in West Virginia and the impact of federal regulations on the company.
However, lawmakers didn’t ask any questions about the company’s ongoing legal troubles.
West Virginia landowners are currently suing Diversified, alleging the company failed to “promptly” plug abandoned wells. Diversified moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that their agreement with state regulators supersedes the state’s well-plugging regulations and protects them from lawsuits, but the judge disagreed.
And just days ago, a House committee advanced a bill that would help companies, including Diversified, that have cut deals with regulators by exempting them from the state law that requires them to “promptly” plug abandoned wells. It also would protect companies from lawsuits for failing to plug their wells, limiting landowners’ ability to sue operators and potentially shielding companies like Diversified.
Abandoned oil and gas wells represent a growing environmental liability for the state, especially as unplugged wells that are left behind by operators who go out of business become “orphaned,” and the cost of cleanup falls to the state — and taxpayers.
The company representative was invited to present by Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, the committee chair. Smith is the lead sponsor of a bill that would help prevent abandoned wells from being orphaned and falling to the state to clean up, but he has yet to put it on his committee agenda.
Diversified currently has 2,200 abandoned wells in West Virginia and its deal with the state allows it to either clean up or put back into production 50 wells a year. If it cleaned up 50 a year, it would take Diversified 44 years to handle them all.
No questions related to Smith’s bill were raised during the meeting as lawmakers focused on the company’s use of technology and economic impact.
“It’s a great conversation for a great industry,” said Sen. Ben Queen, R-Harrison.
The presentation served as an update to the committee about what Diversified is doing and how they’re utilizing new technology, Smith said.
Espenan also told lawmakers that the company is expanding its well-cleanup capacity, detailing the growth of Next Level Energy — a subsidiary dedicated to the cleanup of wells. The company retired 78 of its wells in 2023 along with 100 of the state’s orphaned wells and an additional 27 “third party” wells, according to Espenan.
“It’s not nearly enough but it’s a lot better than what we’ve been doing,” Smith said. “This isn’t the answer, but it’s just showing that at least they are working in good faith, trying to help take care of the problem. And I’m going to give them credit for that.”