(one similar to Creek County well)
One of the latest attempts by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to plug an abandoned well involves a Creek County oil well drilled nearly 100 years ago.
The Walter H. Ford Well No. 2 is identified in a move by Jeremy Hodges, Director of the Oil and Gas Conservation Division at the Corporation Commission. The division, in requesting approval for plugging, stated the well had long been abandoned and “remains unplugged.”
As the filing indicated, “The last known operator of the Walter H. Ford Well No. 2, is shown as The Prairie Oil & Gas Co. on the Well Completion Form 1002A dated 1926. A diligent search was conducted to locate The Prairie Oil & Gas Co., but it cannot be found. The Commission Surety Department has no records pertaining to this operator.”
Records showed the well was completed in 1926 at a total depth of 2,496 feet.
Division employees investigated in their search for any information relayed to the Prairie Oil & Gas Co. and came up empty-handed.
“A google search revealed an article on The Prairie Oil & Gas Co. on The Gateway to Oklahoma History website, however, there is no pertinent information that would lead to locating The Prairie
Oil & Gas Co. Additionally, the Oklahoma State Court Network lists two civil matters in Creek and Pawnee Counties in which The Prairie Oil & Gas Co. was a party, however, there is no location
information for the last known operator.”
Division workers didn’t give up and explored the Oklahoma Tax Commission website and used internet search engines but found no other records for The Prairie Oil & Gas Co. A landowners complaint brought the well to the attention of the Corporation Commission and its investigators found the abandoned well in a working pecan orchard. They concluded the well is a hazard to the landowner’s farming equipment and to the people running the equipment.
The Division application for plugging estimated the cost will be $21,120 and the cost reflects the depth, amount of cement and rig time associated with the plugging of the well. The request is considered a “pollution threat or posses a potential pollution threat to the lands and/or waters of the State of Oklahoma and/or to public safety.”