Louisiana reaches deal with ExxonMobil over coastal land disputes, orphaned wells
State says agreement will help address orphan wells along Louisiana’s coast
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Louisiana has reached a deal with ExxonMobil to resolve coastal land disputes, Gov. Jeff Landry announced Thursday.
Landry said part of the agreement includes ExxonMobil partnering with the state to address orphan wells along Louisiana’s coast.
“This is huge for Louisiana, our Coast, and our environment,” Landry said in a social media post.
The governor also thanked Attorney General Liz Murrill, her team and ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods. Full terms of the agreement were not immediately released.
Attorney General Liz Murrill said the state has an “agreement in principle” with ExxonMobil, but documents still need to be drafted and signed.
“Any settlements in the coastal cases are under seal by court order, but I am happy that we were able to find common ground with Exxon,” Murrill said.
Louisiana has long been facing an orphan well problem, with more than 6,300 documented abandoned oil and gas wells across the state, according to the state’s Department of Conservation and Energy.
Orphan wells are oil and gas wells with no responsible operator, often left behind after companies go bankrupt or dissolve. Abandoned wells can leak oil, saltwater, hazardous chemicals and methane into surrounding communities, groundwater and ecosystems.
The deal appears tied to Louisiana’s long-running coastal damage litigation, a group of lawsuits filed by coastal parishes, some backed by the state, that accuse oil and gas companies of violating state coastal laws and contributing to wetland loss through decades of drilling, canal dredging and other oilfield activity.
The biggest example so far was a Plaquemines Parish case against Chevron/Texaco. A jury ordered Chevron to pay about $744.6 million tied to land loss, contamination and abandoned equipment, though Chevron disputed the claims and the litigation has continued.
“ExxonMobil has been in Louisiana for 115 years and we want them to be here for another 115 years,” Landry said.
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