Located in the Caddo-Pine Island Field, located in Caddo Parrish, Louisiana, was the first very large oil and gas field discovered in Louisiana, this orphaned Gish A 31 well (LA-224093, APN 170-17-3301) was drilled in 2000 to a depth of approximately 785 feet. This orphan well is located in the Five Bayous critical wildlife habitat that is fed from Caddo Lake, an internationally protected wetlands area.. The well was spudded on June 3, 2000 and drilling commenced on June 28, 2000 into the Nacatoch formation.. The well was operational from August, 2000 until September, 2019 when it became an orphan when the last operator, Roy D. Gish, went out of business and the well formally became the responsibility of the State of Louisiana.
The first recorded use of natural gas in the area, in the late 1800’s with the Shreveport Ice Plant well where gas was used for illumination. The earliest oil pipeline in the northern Louisiana area was completed in 1910 by Standard Oil of Louisiana, connecting the oilfield to Standard’s Baton Rouge refinery. More exploratory wells quickly followed and by 1910 almost 25,000 people were working in and around Oil City, which became the first “wildcat town” in the Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas region.
The Approval to Plug (Reference Number 385-22-1) was approved to fill the wellbore from 785 feet to the surface, run a minimum of 50 feet of cement into the annulus, cut 5 feet below ground, and plug to the surface. A local plugging company was contracted to perform the plugging work on June 17, 2022. The Lease Facility Inspection Report was issued by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Office of Conservation on September 18, 2023 and was deemed compliant, with the well plugged, no discharge of E&P, no fire hazard, and the site restored.
