An owner or operator of a well or production facility shall designate an agent, giving his or her address, who resides in this state, to receive and accept service of all orders, notices, and processes of the supervisor or a court of law. Every person so appointing an agent shall, within five days after the termination of the agency, notify the supervisor, in writing, of the termination, and unless operations are discontinued, shall appoint a new agent.

operator’s notice shall contain all of the following information:

days, provide to the division copies of the documents recorded with a governmental office involving the sale, assignment, transfer, conveyance, exchange, or other disposition of the well or production facility.

the information is not relevant to identification of the current operator of the well or production facility.

supervisor, the new operator shall, within 15 days, provide to the division copies of the documents recorded with a governmental office involving the sale, assignment, transfer, conveyance, exchange, or other disposition of the well or production facility.

publicly available, the new operator may redact information from the documents before submitting them to the division if the division agrees the information is not relevant to identification of the current operator of the well or production facility.

as complete pursuant to subdivision (a), including all materials required to be provided by the new operator under that subdivision, and shall make those records available

on the division’s internet website.

notice shall not be extended, and the cancellation shall be noted in the division’s records. The notice shall contain the pertinent data the supervisor requires on printed forms supplied by the division or on other forms acceptable to the supervisor. The supervisor may require other pertinent information to supplement the notice.

subdivision (a).

filing of the notice of intention to perform work on the well, as provided in Section 3203, or at the time of acquisition of the well, as provided in Section 3202. The bond shall be executed by the operator, as principal, and by an authorized surety company, as surety, on the condition that the principal named in the bond shall faithfully comply with all the provisions of this chapter, in drilling, redrilling, deepening, or permanently altering the casing in any well or wells covered by the bond, and shall secure the state against all losses, charges, and expenses incurred by it to obtain the compliance by the principal named in the bond.

with Section 3000) of the Public Resources Code and shall obey all lawful orders of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor or the district deputy or deputies, subject to subsequent appeal as provided in that division, and shall pay all charges, costs, and expenses incurred by the supervisor or the district deputy or deputies in respect of the well or wells or the property or properties of the principal, or assessed against the well or wells or the property or properties of the principal, in pursuance of the provisions of that division, then this obligation shall be void; otherwise, it shall remain in full force and effect.”

section shall become operative on January 1, 2018.

amount.

security obligation if the supervisor, at his or her discretion, determines that the operator has sufficient financial resources to plug and abandon the wells for which the operator is responsible. The security shall remain in effect until all wells are plugged and abandoned in accordance with Section 3208, but the supervisor shall reduce the amount of the security required of an operator to reflect reduced obligations as wells are plugged and abandoned.

bond submitted under subdivision (a) of Section 3205 may be used in lieu of the bond required in subdivision (a), except that the termination and cancellation shall be in accordance with subdivision (c) of this section.

the lesser of the division’s estimation of the reasonable costs of properly plugging and abandoning all of the operator’s wells and decommissioning any attendant production facilities in accordance with Section 3208, or thirty million dollars ($30,000,000).

plugging and abandoning an operator’s well or wells and decommissioning any attendant production facilities, the division shall provide the operator with an opportunity to submit the operator’s own estimation and shall consider all of the following:

division, in evaluating the risk that the operator will desert its well or wells and the potential threats the operator’s well or wells pose to life, health, property, and natural resources, shall consider all of the following:

subdivisions (a) and (b) and the total amount of indemnity bonds or other financial assurances in place to ensure funding of the plugging and abandonment of the operator’s well or wells.

extent that relevant information is available to the division, the financial status of the operator and the operator’s financial capacity to plug and abandon all of the operator’s wells.

bond coverage by the division pursuant to Section 3270.4.

under subdivision (e).

the division. Examples of equally effective means of financial assurance that the division may consider for approval include a letter of credit, a corporate guarantee, a trust fund, or a demonstration of self-insurance.

the division shall reevaluate whether self-insurance continues to be an equally effective means of financial assurance. If an operator provides financial information to the division under this section that is not otherwise publicly available, the division shall maintain the information as confidential.

In lieu of the indemnity bond required by Sections 3204, 3205, 3205.1, 3205.2, 3205.8, and 3206, a deposit may, with the written approval of the supervisor, be given pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 995.710) of Chapter 2 of Title 14 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, other than a deposit of money or bearer bonds or bearer notes.

Before July 1, 2020, the supervisor shall do all of the following:

initial reporting is completed by July 1, 2026, and that followup reporting is required for each operator on a continual basis that is no less frequent than every five years after the initial report.

remediation using criteria developed by the division pursuant to this subdivision.

Include in each followup report due after July 1, 2026, all offshore wells and facilities of the operator.

indemnity bond for multiple wells or production facilities, in an amount determined by the supervisor to be sufficient to cover, in full, all costs of plugging and abandonment, decommissioning of the facility, and site restoration pursuant to Section 3208 and regulations implementing this chapter.

substantially the same language and upon the same conditions as provided in Section 3204, except for the difference in the amount.

abandonment, decommissioning the facility, and site restoration

using any reasonable method, including, but not limited to, consideration of the factors listed in subdivision (b) of Section 3205.3, or the cost estimation criteria described in subdivision (b) of Section 3205.7, or consultation with a contractor to obtain an estimate of the cost to plug and abandon the wells, decommission the facility, and complete site restoration. The supervisor shall determine the amount of a blanket indemnity bond required pursuant to subdivision (a) based on the sum total of combining the costs from the same determinations as individual indemnity bonds for each well or production facility covered by the blanket indemnity bond.

the supervisor, provide the required security through an equally effective means of financial assurance, which includes a deposit pursuant to Section 3205.5, an irrevocable letter of credit, or a fully funded trust fund, but does not include self-insurance or corporate guarantees. The required financial assurance may be obtained or funded by the transferor of the covered well.

used.

has been an idle well for 8 years or longer, but less than 15 years.

(ii) On and after January 1, 2029, twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars ($22,500) for each idle well that has been an idle well for 20 years or longer, but less than 25 years.

abandonment, in addition to priorities identified by the supervisor in regulations:

(ii) Any indication that the idle well potentially poses a threat to life, health, property, or natural resources.

(iii) Wells that are located within 3,200 feet of a sensitive receptor, as defined in Section 3280.

(C) Include notes indicating the basis for prioritizing wells.

(D) Be subject to approval by the supervisor, who may prioritize the order in which idle wells are addressed.

(E) Be reviewed for performance annually by the supervisor, and be subject to amendment by the supervisor, or by the operator with

the approval of the supervisor. An updated plan shall be required if there is a change in ownership or holdings of the operator.

(F) The required rate of idle well elimination shall be based upon the number of idle wells under the control of an operator on January 1 of each year, as specified in subparagraph (G). If the operator has eliminated more wells than required in calendar year 2024 or any subsequent calendar year, the supervisor may deduct from the new requirement the number of idle wells eliminated in excess of those previously required. In addition, the supervisor may require additional well testing requirements as part of the plan.

(G) (i) For calendar years 2025 to 2027, inclusive, unless and until the operator has no idle wells, require that operators with 250 or fewer idle wells eliminate at least 5 percent of their idle wells each year, and, in

no case, less than 1 idle well; operators with 251 to 1,250, inclusive, idle wells eliminate at least 6 percent of their idle wells each year; operators with 1,251 to 3,000, inclusive, idle wells eliminate at least 7 percent of their idle wells each year; and operators with more than 3,000 idle wells eliminate at least 15 percent of their idle wells each year.

(ii) For calendar years 2028 and 2029, unless and until the operator has no idle wells, require that operators with 250 or fewer idle wells eliminate at least 6 percent of their idle wells each year, and, in no case, less than 1 idle well; operators with 251 to 1,250, inclusive, idle wells eliminate at least 8 percent of their idle wells each year; operators with 1,251 to 3,000, inclusive, idle wells eliminate at least 10 percent of their idle wells each year; and operators with more than 3,000 idle wells eliminate at least 18 percent of their idle wells each year.

(iii) For calendar year 2030 and all subsequent calendar years, unless and until the operator has no idle wells, require that operators with 250 or fewer idle wells eliminate at least 8 percent of their idle wells each year, and, in no case, less than 1 idle well; operators with 251 to 1,250, inclusive, idle wells eliminate at least 10 percent of their idle wells each year; operators with 1,251 to 3,000, inclusive, idle wells eliminate at least 15 percent of their idle wells each year; and operators with more than 3,000 idle wells eliminate at least 20 percent of their idle wells each year.

(H) An operator who fails to comply with the plan, as determined by the supervisor after the annual performance review, is not eligible to use the requirements of this paragraph, for purposes of compliance with this section, for any of its idle wells. An operator may appeal to the director

pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 3350) regarding the supervisor’s rejection of a plan and plan amendments and the supervisor’s determination of the operator’s failure to comply with a plan. If the supervisor’s determination that the operator failed to comply with the plan is not timely appealed, or if the director upholds the supervisor’s determination upon appeal, the operator shall immediately file the fees required under paragraph (1) for each year that the operator failed to comply with the plan. That operator may not propose a new idle well plan under this paragraph for the next two years and then only if the operator has paid all required idle well fees and any associated late payment penalties and interest.

moneys in the Hazardous and Idle-Deserted Well Abatement Fund are hereby continuously appropriated to the department for expenditure without regard to fiscal year, to mitigate a hazardous or potentially hazardous condition, by well plugging and abandonment, decommissioning the production facilities, or both, at a well of an operator subject to the requirements of this section.

diligent effort to locate and access the well, and provided documentation of those efforts demonstrating that it is infeasible to locate or physically access the wellbore.

of idle wells if there is an indication of a lack of mechanical integrity.

supervisor, the regulations implementing this section may provide an option for temporary or partial well abandonment in lieu of compliance with the requirements of the regulations implementing this section.

utilize existing information and technology tools that allow data collection without disruption to a well site, (C) limit surface disturbance associated with any emissions sampling, and (D) limit the total cost of the study to a maximum of one million dollars ($1,000,000).

reabandoned, before the initiation of physical work to plug, abandon, or reabandon the well the division or the contracted independent experts, with oversight from the division, shall have testing performed for leaks on the well and associated equipment either (A) in accordance with the United States Environmental Protection Agency Reference Method 21, as set forth in Appendix A-7 to Part 60 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as it read on January 1, 2019, (B) by using an optical gas imaging instrument that is operated by a technician with a certification or training in infrared theory, infrared inspections, and heat transfer principles, or (C) in accordance with an alternative methodology developed for the purposes of this study.

Environmental Protection Agency Reference Method 21 instrument when tested before the initiation of physical work, the division or the contracted independent experts shall ensure additional testing is performed using a direct measurement method consisting of high volume sampling, bagging, or a calibrated flow measuring instrument to determine the flow rate of atmospheric emissions of total and speciated hydrocarbon pollutants before the initiation of physical work.

reduce emissions from the sampling site within 72 hours of the sampling taking place so as to reduce the value of measurements taken.

undertake the study shall complete a written document that includes an executive summary of the findings, a description of the results, the findings, and an estimate of hydrocarbon emissions from the state’s idle, idle-deserted, and abandoned wells.

repealed.

(A) A list of all idle and long-term idle wells in the state by American Petroleum Institute identification number and indicating the operator, field, and pool.

(B) A list of all wells whose idle or long-term idle status changed in the preceding year by American Petroleum Institute identification number

with the disposition and current status of each well.

(C) A list of orphan wells remaining, the estimated costs of abandoning those orphan wells, and a timeline for future orphan well abandonment with a specific schedule of goals. Idle and long-term idle wells that have become orphan wells shall be identified in the list. For the purposes of this report, an orphan well is a well that has no party responsible for it, leaving the state to plug and abandon it.

(D) A list of all operators with plans filed with the supervisor for the management and elimination of all long-term idle wells and the status of those plans.

(E) A list of all wells for which the division has approved a demonstration of inaccessibility under subdivision (e) of Section 3206.

(F) Any

additional relevant information as determined by the supervisor.

operator and that have met the definition of an idle well for three years where neither the required annual fee has been paid or the well is part of a valid idle well management plan on file with the supervisor pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3206.

number of wells and facilities eligible to be subject to a lien, the number of liens placed by the supervisor, and the number of liens released by the supervisor, shall also be provided.

county, as specified in subdivision (b):

abandoned.

terminated.