The cost of cleaning up almost a quarter of a million oil wells in California could be about $21.5bn, more than three times greater than the $6.3bn of estimated future profits from oil and gas production, according to a report commissioned by Carbon Tracker Initiative, a financial think tank. Author of the study, Dwayne Purvis, said that the problem of cleanup costs was one that had “sneaked up” on policymakers and industry. The analysis estimated that only about 1% of the cost of cleanup had been provided by the industry. This means taxpayers would have to cover the majority of expenses to make sure not to leave wells to leak toxic chemicals and climate-warming methane.
https://www.propublica.org/article/cost-of-california-oil-cleanup-exceeds-industry-profits