Freedom! TX Ranchers Get To Deal W. Fast-Growing Contaminated Sinkhole Where Plugged Well Once Stood

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UPTON COUNTY, Texas—A sinkhole around an old oil well is growing at an alarming rate on the Kelton Ranch in West Texas. Radford Grocery #17 was originally drilled as an oil well in the 1950s and later converted to a saltwater disposal well, according to state records. The well was plugged in 177. The Kelton family, which owns the ranch, became alarmed recently as a sinkhole around the well rapidly grew. Water pooled in the bottom of the sinkhole. Then crude oil began migrating up from underground and formed a dark layer over the water.

By mid-March, the sinkhole was roughly 200 feet in diameter and 40 feet deep, big enough to fit a four-story building. The smell of crude permeated the air. The family has stopped using a water well they fear could be contaminated. At some point the Radford Grocery well’s plug failed, creating a connection between the water table and the oil reservoir underground. Because the well was previously plugged and has no active operator, there’s no clear company the Keltons can turn to for help. The Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas drilling and plugging in Texas, has sent personnel to the site. But so far the Kelton family says there is no plan of action from the state agency. “It can be fixed,” said Hawk Dunlap, a well integrity expert, as he looked over the sinkhole on Thursday. “But it’s not going to be cheap.”

The sinkhole is the latest in a string of catastrophic incidents with old oil wells in the Permian Basin of West Texas, some plugged and others not. From sinkholes to blowouts to persistent leaks, more than a century of oil drilling in the region has left a daunting array of environmental hazards. These emergencies are in addition to a long backlog of wells to plug around the state. Acknowledging the growing challenge, the Railroad Commission requested an additional $100 million from the Legislature late last year. “The number and cost of emergency wells has significantly increased over the last five years,” RRC deputy executive director Danny Sorrells wrote to legislators, in a letter first obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

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The problem is mounting month by month. The Kelton Ranch is about 40 miles from a pair of blowouts that happened in Crane County in January 2022 and December 2023. Another blowout in October 2024 alarmed the Reeves County town of Toyah. Yet another leaking orphan well was identified last month in nearby Pecos County, on land that rancher Schuyler Wight leases for cattle grazing. The Railroad Commission has responded to several recent well emergencies. Plugging the well that caused the December 2023 blowout cost $2.5 million. The more recent blowout near Toyah was plugged by the pipeline company Kinder Morgan. Meanwhile, earthquakes linked to wastewater injection wells continue to rock the area. The Railroad Commission has restricted deep injection to reduce seismicity in the area.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14032025/an-oil-well-sinkhole-grows-in-the-permian-basin/