The “Dirty 100” are the 100 orphaned wells that are ranked as having the highest priority for the need of permanent plugging. They are leaking oil or Natural Gas, are currently causing an environmental problem and may also present a hazard or concern to human health and safety. These wells are orphaned wells, which means that the well’s operator of record is no longer a viable responsible party. In other words, the companies that extracted minerals from the wells no longer exist so the responsibility of dealing with the wells now rests on the State of Louisiana. The State of Louisiana charges the Oil and Gas industry a fee of one and one-half cents ($.015) for every barrel of oil and condensate produced, and three-tenths of one cent ($.003) for every thousand cubic feet of gas produced which goes to the statesOrphaned Well Program . This allows the Louisiana Orphaned Well Program to deal with approximately 160 wells per year. There are currently 2820 wells identified as orphaned wells in need of permanent plugging in the State of Louisiana.
The “Dirty 100” are the 100 orphaned wells that are ranked as having the highest priority for the need of permanent plugging. They are leaking oil or Natural Gas, are currently causing an environmental problem and may also present a hazard or concern to human health and safety. These wells are orphaned wells, which means that the well’s operator of record is no longer a viable responsible party. In other words, the companies that extracted minerals from the wells no longer exist so the responsibility of dealing with the wells now rests on the State of Louisiana. The State of Louisiana charges the Oil and Gas industry a fee of one and one-half cents ($.015) for every barrel of oil and condensate produced, and three-tenths of one cent ($.003) for every thousand cubic feet of gas produced which goes to the states Orphaned Well Program . This allows the Louisiana Orphaned Well Program to deal with approximately 160 wells per year. There are currently 2820 wells identified as orphaned wells in need of permanent plugging in the State of Louisiana.
The Dirty 100 are located in the following parishes:
| Parish: | Number of Wells: |
| Lafourche | 32 |
| Vermillion | 13 |
| Cameron | 12 |
| Plaquemines | 12 |
| Terrebonne | 11 |
| Jefferson | 10 |
| Saint Mary | 4 |
| Saint Charles | 2 |
| Saint Bernard | 1 |
| Calcasieu | 1 |
| DeSoto | 1 |
| Franklin | 1 |
The orphaned wells are prioritized by giving them a score based on various criteria; such as whether it is leaking or not, it’s proximity to residences or public buildings, if it presents a hazard to boat navigation, whether it could impact wetlands or water supplies, and others. The Dirty 100 have scores of 30 or greater which gives them a Priority 1 or Priority 2 ranking which means that they are in urgent or high need of attention, respectively.
To get an idea of the Dirty 100, here is the top 10 of the Dirty 100:
| Org Oper Name | Well Name | Well Num | Parish Name | Field Name | Priority | Score |
| DUNHILL RESOURCES, INC. | SL 1593 | 003 | SAINT MARY | ATCHAFALAYA BAY | 1 | 56 |
| PRINCE OIL CO INC | DERAMEE-NICHOL | 002 | LAFOURCHE | LEEVILLE |
1 |
44 |
| S. PARISH OIL COMPANY, INC. | SL 1480 | 026-D | LAFOURCHE | LAKE RACCOURCI | 1 | 43 |
| THE ANSCHUTZ CORPORATION | S/L 6308 | 001 | CAMERON | WILDCAT-SO LA LK CHARLES DIST | 1 | 41 |
| JEFFERSON LAKE SULPHUR COMPANY | SALT DOME ROYALTIES INC | 002 | TERREBONNE | BAY ST ELAINE | 1 | 40 |
| TRICE PRODUCTION COMPANY | SOUTHDOWN SUGARS | 004 | TERREBONNE | SUNRISE | 1 | 40 |
| S. PARISH OIL COMPANY, INC. | SL 1480 | 026 | LAFOURCHE | LAKE RACCOURCI | 1 | 39 |
| W. T. BURTON | W T BURTON FEE | 001 | CALCASIEU | WILDCAT-SO LA LK CHARLES DIST | 1 | 38 |
| LOUIS J. ROUSSEL | INEZ PIERCE | 007 | LAFOURCHE | GOLDEN MEADOW | 1 | 38 |
| OLIN GAS TRANSMISSION CORP. | GRANDISON | 001 | LAFOURCHE | COFFEE BAY | 1 | 38 |
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