Ark Oil & Gas Com

The Proposed Orphan Well Plugging Project Is Located in an Oil Field Located in and Near the Town of Stephens, Ar Which Is a Justice 40 Community With a Predominately Minority Population the Stephens Field Is a Historical Area of Former Production Both From Primary and Secondary Methods Given the Number of Operator Changes, Maturity of the Field and Age of Infrastructure, It Was Abandoned Many Years Ago Leaving a Large Number of Legacy Wells Unplugged According to Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission Records a Total of Two Hundred Twenty Seven 227 Wells Were Drilled in the Field, Some Being Located Within the Town Limits of Stephens and in a Wetland Just on the Outskirts of the Town, With the Remaining Wells Located in Areas Surrounding the Town to Date Approximately 91 Wells Have Been Located and Inspected by Commission Staff With Approximately 136 Wells Currently Unaccounted for, However Field Staff Is Still Working in the Area the Wells Located Within the Floodplain Have Been Under Water for Long Periods of Time Without Any Roads to the Well Sites, With Access to Many of the Wells for Inspection Purposes Accomplished by All Terrain Vehicles Atv or on Foot the Wells Located Within the Town Limits Will Require Special Consideration and Communication With the City for Access to Property, Removal of Fences, Street Blockages and Utility Awareness Consequently, the Costs for the Construction of the Necessary Access Roads to Plug the Wells in This Abandoned Field Will Be Extensive in Addition, Given the Large Number of Wells Yet to Be Located, the Grant Request Includes a Number of Uav Instrument Sensor Packages to Augment the on the Ground Location of These Wells Given the Dense Forest Vegetation and the Wetland Topography Uav Airframes Capable of Deploying Instruments for Methane Gas Detection to Locate Leaking Wells, a Magnetometer and Ground Penetrating Radar to Detect Buried Wellheads, and Lidar to Penetrate the Dense Vegetation Are Requested in the Grant These Remote Sensing Capabilities Will Be Employed to Located the Wells in This Project as Well as Locate Additional Abandoned Wells in Other Areas of the State as Part of the Oil and Gas Commission Abandoned and Orphan Well Plugging Program