Regulator: Colorado Has 2,000 Oil, Gas Wells Per Inspector
GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — Colorado's top oil and gas regulator says the state has about 2,000 active wells for every inspector and would need to add one inspector a year to keep up with recent trends.
Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Director Matt Lepore provided the statistics Thursday to a state task force looking at how the industry is regulated.
Lepore didn't say whether falling oil prices would affect how many inspectors the state needs.
He says Colorado's ratio of active wells to inspectors was in the middle of seven states the commission surveyed. Alaska had the lowest ratio, 370 wells per inspector. Wyoming had the highest, 2,900 wells per inspector.
The average of the seven states was 1,670 wells per inspector.
The other states surveyed were North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Utah.
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