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After a very successful loss in the Republican primary for the Texas Railroad Commissioner, America’s Energy Influencer Sarah Stogner is now documenting the oil and gas wells that are coming back to life as Zombie Wellz in a new series on TikTok.
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According to Stogner, Zombie Wells are wells that have a “downhole condition that has not been confirmed and you do not have enough of the data to know what’s happening downhole. And they are bouncing back to life, springing back to life, coming back from the dead.”
Stogner continues explaining why the Zombie Wells have come back to life after being dormant or dead for decades.
“The increase water injections that we are doing now as a result of the shale revolution,” Stogner said. “That water has to go somewhere. We inject it deep and it causes earthquakes and when we inject it shallow and it comes into contact with shallower aquifers.”
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She continues to explain how the advancement of science has not been balanced properly resulting in “much higher pressure shallower and it is bringing these old wells back to life.”
Orphaned Wells are those for which no former owner or operator can be located, or has gone bankrupt.
Abandoned Wells typically refers to an unproductive well with a known owner/operator.
“It’s compounding Jason,” Stogner said. “It’s 70-years of sloppy construction, lack of maintenance and it’s biting us in the butt. We can not continue to kick the can down the road.”
She adds that imposing today’s science on 50-year-old regulators wouldn’t be fair, however, updating today’s regulations with today’s science is critical to our public health and planet’s resources.
According to state data, Texas has 7,400 abandoned wells, but Stogner disagrees with those figures.
“I estimate the 8,000-ish abandoned well number to more like 100,000,” Stogner said. “If you look at core test wells and other holes in the ground, and let’s not forget that we have over 100,000 right now in the state of Texas that have been shut-in and haven’t produced in several months.”
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She added that for current data, Commissionship has reliable data for those looking for up-to-date info, but at the time of the interview, she was specifically questioning 150,000 wells that are still on operators books, have a P5 license to operate and are just sitting and rotting.
Furthermore, the state’s bonding procedure is antiquated and costing tax payers millions.
“It’s only around 15% that the bonding covers of the anticipated costs to plug all the wells out there that need to be plugged under today’s current inventory of wells,” Stogner said.
To add on the cost to the tax payers, oil and gas companies pay a “blanket bond” when they do business in the state. According to SuretyBonds, the required bond amount is determined by the number of wells you operate within the state. If you operate fewer than 10 wells, the required bond amount is $25,000. If you operate 10 to 99 wells, the required bond amount is $50,000. If you operate 100 wells or more, the required bond amount is $250,000.
“Now that we know better, we have to recognize that we have a problem and say maybe they should have done better but they didn’t know better in the past,” Stogner said. “Once we know better, we have to do better. And that’s where we are at.”
This past summer, Stogner primarily used social media to run her political campaign and forced incumbent Wayne Christian to a runoff in the Texas Railroad Commission Race.
During The Crude Life Podcast, Stogner endorsed RCC candidate Democrat Luke Warford over Christian, who was first elected to the RRC in 2016.
“This is too important to let corrupt career politicians stay in office, and I’m taking a stand against it,” Stogner said.
Stogner lost to Christian by double digits in the one-on-one runoff. Her campaign was unique and successful. Her social media tenacity garnered enough support that carried her into becoming America’s Energy Influencer.
(Interview and feature from 2022)
Current Sarah Stogner
Sarah Stogner (Republican Party) ran for election to the Texas 143rd Judicial District Attorney and won. Stogner was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Stogner was born in Huntsville, Alabama. Stogner earned a B.S. in international trade and finance from Louisiana State University in 2005 and a J.D. from Louisiana State University in 2008. Her career experience includes founding Stogner Legal and working as an oil and gas attorney.
“As a proud Texan, mom, lawyer, entrepreneur, small business owner and independent thinker, I can’t stand corruption -- in government, business, or anywhere else,” Stogner said. “I’ve been called the “unicorn lawyer” because I believe anything is possible when you think outside the box. I’m active across social media, and do what it takes to bring the media’s attention to the crucial issues I’m fighting for.”
Stogner has been affiliated with the Texas and Louisiana state bar associations, the Federal Bar Association, the Women's Energy Network, the Association of Energy Service Companies, and the Texas Oil & Gas Association
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