In recent years, California has passed new laws to tackle the enormously expensive remediation of old oil wells, which pose hazards for human health and the climate. But as two of the state’s largest oil well operators race toward a corporate merger, the challenge of holding companies accountable for their mess is coming into view.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed one of the state’s toughest regulations last fall: a law requiring companies that buy or acquire another operator’s oil wells to put up the money to plug them once they run dry. But California Resources Corporation — which plans to acquire Aera Energy — is refusing to say whether it has complied, or will comply.
