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BLM wants bidders to reclaim unplugged wells as condition for getting oil and gas leases

Utah’s first lease auction since 2020 features just one small parcel where a past operator walked away from a nonproducing well.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Public land on the Green River's Horseshoe Bend, south of Vernal, shot on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, will be auctioned for oil and gas leasing by the Bureau of Land Management. The one parcel to be offered at the BLM’s Utah auction June 28 is located on the right edge of this photograph on the far side of the river. It features an abandoned 55-year-old well that will have to be plugged by whoever buys this lease. Overflight provided by LightHawk.