The long-term integrity of the subsurface is influenced not only by producing wells and active infrastructure, but also by the thousands of orphaned wells, as defined by the RRC, inherited from decades of oil and gas development. As regulatory requirements evolve—especially under the RRC’s expanded Permian Area of Review (AOR) expectations— orphaned wells have become a focal point for Permian operators planning Class II injection wells and other subsurface projects.
To support this work, B3 Insight has introduced an Orphaned Well Risk Score, a standardized assessment applied exclusively to Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) designated orphaned wells. The score is built directly from the RRC’s Plugging Prioritization Matrix. It is the same rubric the state uses internally to identify which orphaned wells pose the highest environmental and safety risks. B3’s approach applies spatial and operational intelligence, producing a clear, interpretable ranking that operators can use in planning, permitting, and risk mitigation
Why Orphaned Wells Matter Now
Historic wellbores can become pathways for unintended fluid movement if plugging integrity is unknown, incomplete, or degraded. In a basin where shallow pressures are rising and disposal volumes remain high, the condition and proximity of legacy wells can influence:
- Disposal well permitting
- Formation pressure containment evaluations
- Regulatory compliance within new AOR guidelines
- Risk mitigation strategies for field development
Texas’s updated expectations for Class II shallow disposal permitting explicitly require operators to identify penetrations within 0.5–2 miles of a proposed location. Many of those penetrations fall into the RRC’s orphaned well category, which is why it is key to have a transparent and consistent way to identify risk by well.
How the Score Works
In early 2025 the Texas RRC created a Plugging Prioritization Matrix to rank the orphaned wells that pose the greatest environmental or safety risk, but the agency does not publish the well-by-well scores. B3’s Orphaned Well Risk Score interprets that framework to give operators visibility into how RRC-designated orphaned wells may be prioritized. The B3 Orphaned Well Risk Score classifies each RRC-designated orphaned well on a scale from 1 (highest priority) to 4 (lowest priority). Each ranking is supported by a detailed scorecard outlining the factors that contributed to the assessment.
The B3 score reflects conditions such as:
- proximity to people, infrastructure, and surface waters
- depth and construction characteristics
- documented plugging status
- likelihood of interaction with shallow or pressured intervals
- potential for fluid migration
This structure aligns with regulatory intent while providing operators with a data-backed score that can be incorporated into AOR evaluations, planning workflows, and internal risk assessments.
What Makes the Score Useful
- A Consistent Method for Comparing Legacy Wells
Not all orphaned wells pose the same operational or environmental risk. The score enables teams to distinguish between wells that warrant deeper investigation and those that pose limited concern.
- Integrated Spatial Context
Because the scoring sits inside OilfieldH2O, users can immediately analyze the well’s surroundings: disposal activity, pressure gradients, geology, and nearby infrastructure. This context is critical when assessing containment and planning disposal strategies.
- Stronger Regulatory Preparation
With Texas’s expanded AOR requirements, operators must demonstrate that penetrations within review boundaries have been evaluated correctly. The score and accompanying metadata support clearer documentation and faster first-pass quality.
- Practical Field Value
Beyond permitting, the score helps operators prioritize field checks, plan drilling hazard reviews, and anticipate potential operational constraints around legacy wellbores.
Where the Data Comes From
The Orphaned Well Risk Score is applied only to the subset of wells that the RRC formally identifies as orphaned. Each well is analyzed using:
- B3’s well construction and history data
- spatial relationships to environmental and operational features
- elements derived from the RRC’s own plugging priority framework
The result is a risk assessment grounded in regulatory logic and supported by high-quality structured data.
A Clearer View of the Subsurface
Legacy wells have always been part of the Permian’s operational landscape. What’s changed is the pressure environment, the regulatory framework, and the need for fast, defensible assessments of subsurface risk.
B3’s Orphaned Well Risk Score helps operators meet that need with standardized, practical intelligence that strengthens planning and improves regulatory readiness.
To learn about B3 Insight’s Orphaned Well data in OilfieldH2O, contact our team.