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oil wells

An Old Well Gushed Waste, Not Oil, in a Small West Texas Town

The Railroad Commission of Texas shut down injection wells to control a leak in a church parking lot. But 1.5 million gallons of toxic wastewater still spilled to the surface.

By Martha Pskowski

 A pit in the parking lot of the First Baptist Church in Grandfalls, Texas, where the Railroad Commission plugged a wellbore that was previously gushing thousands of gallons of wastewater a minute. Credit: Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News
A crew works to plug an orphaned well in the Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge of Oklahoma.

Plugging Away at the Millions of Derelict Oil and Gas Wells in the US

Story and photos by J. Matt
Jackie Chesnutt props up a sign next to a leaking oil well operated by CORE Petro on her property near Knickerbocker, Texas, on Nov. 18, 2025.

Low-Producing Oil Wells in Texas Cause Headaches for Landowners

Story by Martha Pskowski, photos by Paul Ratje
A blackened pipe with a large gout of flame swirling out of the top.

Trump Says America’s Oil Industry Is Cleaner Than Other Countries’. New Data Shows Massive Emissions From Texas Wells

By Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News, and Mark Olalde, ProPublica
Loretta Johnson stands by a water well on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. According to an EPA report, the well produces water tainted with arsenic. Credit: Jerry Redfern/Capital & Main

On the Navajo Nation, the List of Mystery Wells Continues to Grow

By Jerry Redfern, Capital & Main

An Oil Well Sinkhole Grows in the Permian Basin

By Martha Pskowski
Homes sit in the shadows of the Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles on Sept. 25, 2024. Credit: Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Living Near Active Oil and Gas Wells May Have Increased Risk of Dying from COVID-19

By Liza Gross
Children play soccer next to active oil wells in Los Angeles County’s Inglewood Oil Field, the largest urban oil field in the nation. Credit: Gary Kavanagh

California Governor Signs Bills to Tighten Restrictions on Oil and Gas Drillers

By Liza Gross
A cow stands next to a non-producing oil well in Caldwell County, Texas. Gas was venting out of the well even though oil is not being produced. Credit: Courtesy of Abigail Edgar

Study Finds High Levels of Hydrogen Sulfide in Central Texas Oilfield

By Martha Pskowski
Brandon Horton, a driver for Allied Eagle Transports, monitors the transfer of a load of salt water, a byproduct of fracking, to a disposal site south of Midland, Texas, on June 25. Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune

Study Links Permian Blowouts With Wastewater Injection

By Dylan Baddour, Inside Climate News, and Carlos Nogueras Ramos, Texas Tribune
Contractors and attorneys for Chevron watch from above as Hawk Dunlap, Daniel Charest and Sarah Stogner (from left) inspect an excavated well on April 10 at Antina Ranch in Crane County, Texas. Credit: Mitch Borden/Marfa Public Radio

A Legal Fight Over Legacy Oil Industry Pollution Heats Up in West Texas

By Martha Pskowski
Water flows from an orphaned oil well on Schuyler Wight’s ranch in Pecos County, Texas. Credit: Courtesy of Schuyler Wight

Another Blowout Adds to Mystery of Permian Basin Water Pressure

By Dylan Baddour
A fracking drilling pad operates in the Marcellus Shale formation near Robinson Township, Pa. Credit: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Pennsylvania’s Fracking Wastewater Contains a ‘Shocking’ Amount of the Critical Clean Energy Mineral Lithium

By Kiley Bense
Children play basketball beside an oil well pump jack and tank in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles. Credit: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Battle to Prioritize Public Health over Oil Company Profits Heats Up

By Liza Gross
Ricky Jordan inspects an abandoned well with a temporary cap in the backyard of a home on March 8, 2023 in Oil City, La. Credit: Cooper Neill/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Companies Are Poised to Inject Millions of Tons of Carbon Underground. Will It Stay Put?

By Nicholas Kusnetz
Bill Wight looks at the well that leaked enormous volumes of saltwater on his property. It took crews over a month to seal the well and stop the leak. Credit: Sarah M. Vasquez/The Texas Tribune

‘Nobody Really Knows What You’re Supposed to Do’: Leaking, Abandoned Wells Wreak Havoc in West Texas 

By Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News and Carlos Nogueras, Texas Tribune

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