One of two of the last remaining oil and gas wells in the Longmont city limits will be plugged and abandoned to make way for a community park, under an agreement approved last week by the Longmont City Council.
KP Kaufman’s Tabor # 7, an actively producing oil and gas well, will be turned over to the city and the company will relinquish the right to conduct operations with the city, according to a staff report.
Reclaiming Tabor #7 is part of the city’s long term commitment to plug all oil and gas wells in the city, City Manager Harold Domiguez told the city council, Tuesday night. The Stamp Well site northwest of Longmont — the last remaining oil well within the city — will also be plugged at a later date, Dominguez saId.
“We now have agreements on all active wells in the city limits,” he said. Plugging Tabor #7 “is a big step.”
“I am very glad about this,” added Councimember Joan Peck.
Longmont will pay for 50% of actual plugging and abandonment costs, not to exceed $75,000. Longmont will also arrange for a third-party to oversee the reclamation and remediation process, the city report states. KP Kaufman will also remove all flow lines, and reclaim the land by the end of 2021, according to the agreement.
Tabor #7 was drilled in 1982 and is located southeast of the intersection of Quail Road and Colo. 287 on city-owned property known as the Sisters of Francis site. The well is also near St. Vrain Valley School District’s Innovation Center and a planned Montessori school site, the city report states.
Jane Turner, the city’s expert on oil and gas activity, told the city council Longmont has collected $2 million in oil and gas royalties which will help pay for the Tabot #7 closure.
