{"id":266287,"date":"2026-04-25T21:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T21:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/266287\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T21:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T21:32:13","slug":"texas-is-lousy-with-podunk-oil-wells-creating-headaches-for-landowners-mother-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/266287\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Is Lousy With Podunk Oil Wells, Creating Headaches for Landowners \u2013 Mother Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\"An<\/p>\n

Jackie Lynn Chestnutt stands up a sign next to a leaking well owned by Core Petro LLC on her property in Knickerbocker, Texas.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tGet your news from a source that\u2019s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by\u00a0Inside Climate News<\/a>\u00a0and is reproduced here as part of the\u00a0Climate Desk<\/a>\u00a0collaboration.<\/p>\n

Some Texas oil wells gush hundreds of barrels of oil a day. But many are like the wells on Jackie Chesnutt\u2019s ranch in West Texas that only trickle out a couple barrels a month.<\/p>\n

Chesnutt, a retired engineer, claims the five wells operating on her ranch are out of compliance with state rules and should be shut down. The company, CORE Petro, says that it\u2019s struggling to break even, let alone pay to plug the wells. But it says that all its wells are in compliance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are thousands of oil and gas wells around Texas like these: low-producing wells leased by companies operating on a shoestring. About two-thirds of the active oil wells in Texas, or 99,000 wells, produce less than 10 barrels of oil a day, according to the state regulator. To remain active, oil wells in Texas must produce at least five barrels for three consecutive months or at least one barrel for 12 consecutive months.<\/p>\n

Companies will often maintain a minimal amount of oil production instead of plugging a well, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Landowners like Chesnutt argue that this pattern can lead to pollution and burdensome equipment on their land.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AChestnutt poses for a portrait on her property in Knickerbocker, Texas.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

Oil industry analysts and environmental advocates say they have heard claims that companies report the bare minimum of oil production to avoid plugging wells.\u00a0\u201cThe wells on the lease are all producing,\u201d said Railroad Commission spokesperson Bryce Dubee.<\/p>\n

Advocates of reforming the oil and gas industry say that stricter rules are needed to ensure companies plug wells in a timely manner and assume the costs so that it does not fall to the state.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0a 2022 report<\/a>\u00a0on Texas\u2019 orphan well problem, the nonprofit organization Commission Shift wrote companies should not be able to \u201cindefinitely \u2018produce\u2019 a teaspoon of crude or a cubic foot of gas simply to avoid paying for decommissioning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas has more than 159,000\u00a0inactive wells<\/a>. If the operator of an inactive well goes out of business, the unplugged well eventually becomes an orphan. Texas is facing a record-high backlog of more than 11,000 orphan wells.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not financially able to plug a bunch of oil wells. That\u2019s not why we\u2019re in this business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chesnutt is the rare landowner who is fighting back against this broken system. The 69-year-old and her now-deceased husband bought the 375-acre property outside San Angelo in 1998. After retiring from a career working at a pharmaceutical company in San Angelo, she now tends goats and sheep on the ranch.<\/p>\n

Her complaints to the Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas, have gone nowhere, she said. She has resorted to shutting off power to CORE Petro\u2019s wells because she says they are out of compliance with state production rules. CORE Petro responds that it\u2019s Chesnutt who is breaking the law by shutting off power and, without electricity, they have no way to produce oil at the wells.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"WomanChestnutt feels underneath a tank that is rusted out on its base. It\u2019s one of several on her property owned by CORE Petro.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re between a rock and hard place,\u201d said Cassie Ohlhausen, who runs CORE Petro with her husband, Kent. \u201cWe\u2019re not financially able to plug a bunch of oil wells. That\u2019s not why we\u2019re in this business. We\u2019re in this business to produce oil wells.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chesnutt\u2019s growing frustration has spilled over into confrontations with CORE Petro and commission staff. The Railroad Commission alleges that Chesnutt physically assaulted staff members and endangered them with aggressive driving. The agency has instructed her to put all communications in writing to avoid future incidents. The owners of CORE Petro say she has threatened them with a gun. Chesnutt disputes these claims.<\/p>\n

The Railroad Commission declined to answer numerous questions about the oil lease on Chesnutt\u2019s ranch. Instead, commission staff provided a letter sent to Chesnutt that described altercations with staff members. The Railroad Commission has not issued any fines to CORE Petro.<\/p>\n

Chesnutt\u2019s ranch is one small window into the vast problem of Texas\u2019 aging oil assets. Existing financial mechanisms are not enough to retire the thousands of low-producing oil wells littered across the Texas countryside. The problem eventually falls to the state or becomes a thorn in the side of landowners like Chesnutt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Persimmon Creek Ranch lays where the desert scrubland of the Trans Pecos region meets the rocky woodlands of the Texas Hill Country. The ranch, about 200 miles northwest of Austin, gets its name from the native persimmons she collects to make preserves.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest things we have focused on out here since we\u2019ve bought the place is water, water, water,\u201d she said. Chesnutt, now widowed, relies on a windmill-operated well to provide water for her residence and animals.<\/p>\n

Chesnutt\u2019s home office displays professional mementos, including her diploma from the University of Texas, Austin, where she was an early female graduate of the engineering program. She now applies an engineer\u2019s attention to detail to investigating the drilling operations on her property.<\/p>\n

Chesnutt holds 50 percent of the mineral rights on the property, meaning she receives a share of profits from the wells. This has amounted to only a few hundred dollars in royalties every couple months in recent years. This money is hardly worth the trouble the wells have caused, she said. She riffled through documents on a sunny fall afternoon, her dog Einstein asleep at her side.<\/p>\n

\"HandsChestnutt looks through documents pertaining to oil wells located on her property.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

\"ThreeRelics from Chestnutt\u2019s career as an engineer.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

\"AChestnutt\u2019s dog, Einstein, rests on a sofa.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

While the lease was operated by a previous company, Amor Petroleum, Well #10 had been shut down for lack of production. That left only four producing wells.<\/p>\n

Then CORE Petro took over the lease in 2021. Chesnutt says that is when the problems started.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once a well is inactive, the operator has 12 months to plug it or obtain an extension. The clock started ticking for CORE Petrol to get Well #10 producing again. CORE Petro reported a small amount of production at the well to bring it back to active status.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chesnutt said that the company caused numerous spills in their attempts to get oil flowing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey made a big mess of it,\u201d she said, showing photos of spills of oil and produced water, a hazardous byproduct of drilling. Chesnutt fears the spills could contaminate her groundwater and has paid to get her water tested multiple times.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have worked our asses off to make this place wonderful and beautiful,\u201d she said. \u201cI refuse to accept that the next person is going to have this happen to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Railroad Commission issued CORE Petro multiple violations for unpermitted disposal of oil and gas waste, or spills, at the lease. But each time, the violation was later resolved without the company paying fines.<\/p>\n

\u201cRRC records indicate four pollution violations for this lease,\u201d Railroad Commission spokesperson Dubee said. \u201cIn each instance the operator was notified and upon reinspection all violations have been fixed on the lease indicating compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

CORE\u2019s Ohlhausen said that some amount of spillage is to be expected and that the company always cleaned up the spills.<\/p>\n

But Chesnutt\u2019s frustrations only grew.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"WaterA water reservoir on Chestnutt\u2019s property .Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat has really blown my mind about this is that we have to follow one set of rules in industry,\u201d Chesnutt told Inside Climate News. \u201dBut the oil companies, they allow them to just come out here and do whatever the hell they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

By her account, only one of the wells on her property has produced oil in years. But CORE Petro reports ongoing production at all the active wells. The Railroad Commission requires well testing to prove wells are producing oil. CORE Petro\u2019s most recent well testing, in 2025, shows each well producing less than one barrel a day.<\/p>\n

Chesnutt claimed the company is falsifying production numbers to keep the wells operating. The company denies this claim.\u00a0\u201cThe operators can fill in any information they want and nobody checks them,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s unacceptable. I\u2019m really sad that the Permian Basin and all these areas are like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Operators submit monthly reports to the Railroad Commission of how much oil is produced and how much is stored at each lease. While the state rules require every well to be actively producing oil, production reports are only required for the entire lease, not individual wells. Inside Climate News found inconsistencies between public records of oil production and inspections at the lease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On July 2, 2025, a truck picked up oil from the ranch and recorded the level of oil in the tank afterward, according to a commission inspection report. A Railroad Commission inspector visited the site on Sept. 16. He noted that the amount of oil in the tank hadn\u2019t changed since July 2.<\/p>\n

\"AChestnutt points to a leaky oil pipe next to a tank battery owned by Core Petro.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

\"AOne of the leaky oil pipes running along the ground.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

But in the intervening months, CORE reported producing 10 barrels in July and another 15 barrels in August. The company was reporting production on paper but the volume of the tank did not rise, according to the RRC inspection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Railroad Commission declined to answer questions about this and it does not appear the agency has investigated the discrepancy. Cassie Ohlhausen said that the company uses an auxiliary tank to collect the oil. Once it is full, the oil is transported to the tank battery, a large metal tank that stores oil. She said this could explain why the tank battery did not rise even though oil was being produced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reporting of production is accurate and is done by a third party who tracks our oil sales and inputs those numbers into the RRC system,\u201d Ohlhausen said.<\/p>\n

Inside Climate News observed an auxiliary tank at only one well. Any oil produced at the other wells would have to flow directly into the tank battery.<\/p>\n

Commission documents reveal other inconsistencies. On February 7, 2025, the Railroad Commission issued a violation to CORE Petro that said Well #9 was an \u201cinactive unplugged well.\u201d However, the next time the inspector visited the site, the well was determined to be compliant. The Railroad Commission declined to respond to questions about this.<\/p>\n

Property owners have little recourse other than reporting the problems to the Railroad Commission. Chesnutt feels the Railroad Commission is ignoring her complaints about CORE Petro.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot one single acknowledgement that [the wells] should be plugged,\u201d she said of her interactions with the state agency. \u201cI\u2019ve had resistance on even cleaning up the spills.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ThreeThe three Railroad Commission members, from left: Wayne Christian, Jim Wright, and Christi Craddick.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Chesnutt\u2019s behavior has alarmed Railroad Commission staff. An attorney for the agency sent a letter to Chesnutt on Oct. 31, 2024. The letter states that she \u201cverbally threatened and physically assaulted Commission staff\u201d and \u201cengaged in reckless and aggressive driving,\u201d threatening the safety of commission staff. The letter also says that she told commission staff of her \u201cintent to commit several violent crimes\u201d against CORE Petro\u2019s employees.<\/p>\n

Chesnutt disputes the commission\u2019s characterizations. \u201cI don\u2019t know, because I\u2019ve never assaulted anyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Tom Green County Sheriff\u2019s Office has responded to calls from Chesnutt, Kent Ohlhausen and the Railroad Commission about incidents at the ranch, according to call sheets. The Railroad Commission requested the sheriff\u2019s office be on \u201cstandby\u201d when visiting Chesnutt\u2019s property.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Commission inspectors have also noted in inspection reports that Chesnutt is turning off power to wells on her property. Chesnutt maintains that the wells pose a fire hazard and she is within her rights to turn them off. State rules require electricity be disconnected at inactive wells. Electrical lines for oil wells were blamed for starting\u00a0devastating wildfires<\/a>\u00a0in the Texas Panhandle in 2024.<\/p>\n

In response to the regulator\u2019s claims of her \u201creckless driving,\u201d Chesnutt said that last October she saw a Railroad Commission truck on the road leading to her ranch. She was driving in the opposite direction, so she did a U-turn and flashed her headlights to get the driver\u2019s attention. She asked him to pull over and asked if he was headed to her property, because she was waiting for an inspector.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CORE\u2019s Ohlhausen said that Chesnutt has threatened their staff multiple times.<\/p>\n

\"AChestnutt points to an oil well owned by Core Petro LLC which is in disrepair and leaking.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

\"HandsChestnutt photographs a leaking oil well.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

\"AA piece of soil hardened from the produced water of an oil well.Paul Ratje\/Inside Climate News<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the wells produce at some point or another until she goes and turns them off,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t afford a lawsuit, but we have every right to call the sheriff and the justice of the peace and have her stand down on turning our oil wells off,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

CORE Petro specializes in operating aging, low-producing wells, Ohlhauser explains, noting that her husband Kent is called \u201cthe Oil Well Undertaker\u201d because he works with \u201cend of life wells.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the ones that end up with what they call the stripper wells that have already been stripped of all their oil,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re just producing a bit of oil every day to keep somebody alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kent Ohlhausen owns several other oil companies. Many of the leases he operates meet the bare minimum requirement of one barrel of oil production a month for 12 consecutive months. For example, the Olhausen Oil Company\u2019s Ohlhausen, West Texas lease reported one barrel of oil production for each month from April 2023 to April 2024. The same company\u2019s Barker C.P. lease reported one barrel of oil production every month December 2023 to January 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jackie Lynn Chestnutt stands up a sign next to a leaking well owned by Core Petro LLC on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266288,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-266287","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-texas","9":"tag-texas-headlines","10":"tag-texas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}