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Unplugged

Will Taxpayers Foot the Oil Industry’s Cleanup Bill?

Unplugged oil and gas wells accelerate climate change, threaten public health and risk hitting taxpayers’ wallets. Money set aside to fix the problem covers less than 2% of the impending cost.

Impact of Our Reporting
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Unplugged

California Bill Requiring Companies to Pay for Oil and Gas Well Cleanup in Limbo

The bill follows ProPublica’s reporting on the multibillion-dollar cost to clean up California’s oil and gas industry.

by Mark Olalde,

The American Oil Industry’s Playbook, Illustrated: How Drillers Offload Costly Cleanup Onto the Public

by Mark Olalde, illustrations by Peter Arkle, special to ProPublica,

Oklahoma’s Oil Industry Touts a Voluntary Fund to Clean Up Oil Wells. Major Drillers Want Their Contributions Refunded.

by Mark Olalde, ProPublica, and Nick Bowlin, Capital & Main,

California Isn’t Enforcing Its Strongest-in-the-Nation Oil Well Cleanup Law on Its Largest Oil Company

by Mark Olalde,

How America’s “Most Powerful Lobby” Is Stifling Efforts to Reform Oil Well Cleanup in State After State

by Mark Olalde,

Oil Companies Contaminated a Family Farm. The Courts and Regulators Let the Drillers Walk Away.

by Mark Olalde, ProPublica, and Nick Bowlin, Capital & Main,

Oil Companies Must Set Aside More Money to Plug Wells, a New Rule Says. But It Won’t Be Enough.

by Mark Olalde, ProPublica, and Nick Bowlin, Capital & Main,

The Rising Cost of the Oil Industry’s Slow Death

by Mark Olalde, ProPublica, and Nick Bowlin, Capital & Main,

It Will Cost Up to $21.5 Billion to Clean Up California’s Oil Sites. The Industry Won’t Make Enough Money to Pay for It.

by Mark Olalde,

Big Oil Companies Are Selling Their Wells. Some Worry Taxpayers Will Pay to Clean Them Up.

by Mark Olalde,