New Mexico has filed a lawsuit against three Texas oil executives, accusing them of a fraudulent scheme to profit from oil and gas wells while leaving cleanup costs to taxpayers. The complaint details how the executives allegedly used shell companies and bankruptcies to offload hundreds of wells, many of which pose environmental hazards. Attorney General Raúl Torrez vows to hold the executives accountable for endangering public health.
In late December, New Mexico's attorney general's office launched a 72-page lawsuit against Everett Willard Gray II, Robert Stitzel, and Marquis Reed Gilmore Jr., all based in Midland, Texas. The suit alleges that since 2015, the executives built a network of companies under the Remnant banner, aggregating hundreds of oil and gas wells in southeastern New Mexico. They racked up regulatory violations for inactive and unplugged wells, leading to a state deadline in July 2019 for plugging some sites. Just 15 days before that deadline, Remnant filed for bankruptcy protection.
Following the bankruptcy, the executives shuffled assets through entities like Acacia and Solis Partners, a subsidiary of Gray's New Era Energy & Digital. Acacia acquired most of Remnant's wells, while Solis Partners obtained 87 of the most lucrative gas-producing ones for a nominal $10. Acacia later faced its own bankruptcy in December 2024 after a major oil company sued it for cleanup responsibilities. Of the wells from Remnant and Acacia, 172 became the State Land Office's burden; only 11 have been plugged, mostly by other operators, with the rest potentially costing over $25 million to remediate. The office recovered just a $20,000 bond from Remnant.
Unplugged wells leak methane, carcinogenic gases, and radioactive wastewater, as highlighted in a 2024 ProPublica and Capital & Main investigation that toured Remnant sites and found explosive methane levels and hydrogen sulfide emissions. "I will not stand by while bad actors take advantage of the system—avoiding responsibility, burdening the state with costly remediation, and recklessly endangering the health of New Mexicans," Torrez stated.
Gray called the lawsuit "meritless" and denied any fraud, while Stitzel and Gilmore did not respond. New Era, now pivoting to an AI data center powered by nuclear energy, plans to sell the wells, which include 120 inactive ones on state land. This case exemplifies industry practices environmentalists term "the playbook," amid New Mexico's $1.6 billion orphan well cleanup estimate. Reforms are underway, including proposed $150,000 bonds for inactive wells and stricter sales oversight, though industry groups push back, arguing smaller operators could suffer.
