A settlement between the state of New Mexico and Ridgeway Arizona Oil Corp. will plug 299 of the company’s moribund, nonproducing oil wells, with the state paying the costs and the company reimbursing the state $30,000 a month until the bill is repaid.
Plugging costs could top $30 million, said Sidney Hill, public information officer with the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, the parent of the regulatory and enforcement Oil Conservation Division. At $30,000 a month, the repayment process could take more than 83 years.
