Contractor to Assist the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board with the Plugging, Remediation, and Reclamation of Orphaned Wells.

State Oil and Gas Board
Board Members
DAVID A. SCOTT, Jackson
Chairman STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
JESSE S. NEW, JR.
LEW YODER, Laurel
Executive Director
Vice-Chairman
500 Greymont A venue, Suite E
OWEN B. EMERSON, Hernando
Jackson, MS 39202 M. D. FORESTER, JR.
JAMES H. HERRING, Canton Telephone (601) 576-4900
Board Attorney
BRAD MAYO, Oxford
March 24, 2026
RE: ATTENTION POTENTIAL ORPHANED WELL PLUGGING AND
REMEDIATION CONTRACTORS
Dear Sirs,
Enclosed is a copy of the public notice that will be published in the Clarion-Ledger
newspaper on Tuesday, March 24, 2026 and again on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 calling for a bid
proposal to plug and abandon three (3) orphaned wells in Issaquena and Madison County,
Mississippi (IFB RFx No. 3160007966). Also enclosed is the Invitation for Bids for your use in
preparing your bid response. If you have any questions, please contact me at the above address, or
by telephone number at (601) 576-4925 or by email at mwelch@ogb.state.ms.us.
The deadline for submitting a bid is 4:00 p.m. on Monday, April 27, 2026. Bids must be
submitted to the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board ("MSOGB") at 500 Greymont Avenue, Suite E,
Jackson, Mississippi 39202. Any request for additional information must be made in writing to
Morris Welch, Compliance Inspector Team Lead, at the above address.
Each prospective Contractor should request and schedule a Pre-Bid Project Site Visit in
order to fully ascertain and properly characterize the work to be completed on each project site
included in IFB RFx No. 3160007966. Contractors are expected to be aware of and fully
understand the full scope of work to be performed on each project site, notwithstanding unknown
and unforeseen downhole well issues that may arise from time to time which are unknown or
unforeseen to both the MSOGB and the Contractor. Pre-Bid Project Site Visits must be conducted
no later than Friday, April 3, 2026 and may be scheduled by contacting Morris Welch at the
telephone number and email address provided above.

IMPORTANT
It is the Contractor's responsibility to schedule a Pre-Bid Project Site Visit. Bid proposals require
an absolute turnkey bid. A change order may be allowed with respect to technical procedures or
unforeseen and significant downhole problems involving the plugging of an orphaned well;
however, said change order must be agreed upon in writing in advance of the commencement of
work at a particular well site.
Contractor must submit to the MSOGB an individual plugging and/or remediation plan, including
all pertinent written procedures, for each well referenced in IFB RFx No. 3160007966 along with
the Contractor's bid amount for each well and a total amount for all of the work to be performed
pursuant to IFB RFx No. 3160007966.
Contractor's plugging and remediation plan for each well must be approved by the MSOGB before
any work begins pursuant to IFB RFx No. 3160007966. Contractor must comply with all
applicable Federal and State statutes, rules and regulations, including those regarding the filing of
forms.
Bid Specifications now contain the requirement that the Contractor remove and dispose of all liquids
contained in the production vessels and equipment associated with each well that is being plugged.
Pumping these fluids back into the well prior to plugging is an acceptable option, so long as said
fluids are pumped into the same formation from which they were generated. Alternatively, these
fluids may be mixed with mud and placed in between the cement plugs below the base of the USDW,
so long as the well has demonstrated mechanical integrity. This alternative option only applies to
oil and gas wells.
Contractors shall also remove and dispose of all liquids from vessels (stock tanks, separators, heater
treaters, etc.) associated with the well. Contractors shall restore the location by filling and leveling
the hole dug to cut casings, removing all equipment from the well site that was associated with the
well operation (per Statewide Rule 28), and leveling/smoothing all containment berms and firewalls.
On all wells to be plugged, when tubing is to be pulled from the well, all proper and necessary
precautions shall be taken for keeping the well under control including the use of blowout preventers
(BOPs) and auxiliary equipment. Testing of BOPs shall be done according to Testing Requirements
of Statewide Rule 13 (Blowout Preventers and Well Control). It is the sole responsibility of the
Contractor to maintain control of the well at all times.
Plugging specifications for a production well now require a 100 foot cement plug at the base of
the USDW, inside the casing only, and verification of the plug by tagging. A 200 foot plug may
be set in lieu of tagging. However, all plugging operations will be in strict compliance with the all
applicable local, State, and/or Federal regulations governing same.
With respect to a plugging operation of an orphan well where it is reasonably expected that
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) may be encountered, plugging operations shall be completed in

accordance with Statewide Rule 66 (Operations Involving Hydrogen Sulfide). If H2S is reasonably
expected to be encountered with respect to a particular plugging operation, the Contractor shall be
required to engage a well-qualified company or individual specializing in H2S plugging operations
where H2S concentrations are at or above 100 ppm.
Statewide Rule 28 requires the removal of concrete bases, unless the landowner agrees in writing to
allow the concrete bases to remain on the property as is. Contractor shall provide a copy of said
written agreement to the MSOGB.
Sincerely,
Morris Welch
Compliance Inspector Team Lead