By Kate Groetzinger
Each year, the Center for Western Priorities analyzes oil and gas spills data collected by Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming—the West’s top oil and gas-producing states. This year’s report found there were at least 2,709 drilling-related spills in 2024 in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming (combined). These spills contained at least 7 million gallons of crude oil and other hazardous liquids.
These spills harm landscapes, water sources, wildlife habitat, and communities. For example, a recent well blowout in Colorado caused 3.8 million gallons of contaminated water, chemicals, and crude oil to spew out of the ground for nearly four days. The pollutants reached an elementary school, roadways, multiple properties, and nearby waterways. (This spill is not included in this year’s report as it occurred in 2025.)
Operators in New Mexico and Colorado reported fewer drilling-related spills in 2024 than 2023, while the number of reported spills as well as the amount of drilling-related liquid spilled in Wyoming went up in 2024. In New Mexico, the total volume of liquid spilled decreased for the third year in a row, following the 2021 passage of a rule that allows regulators to fine operators for spills.
Operators in New Mexico also reported a 43 percent decrease in the amount of methane, or natural gas, wasted through venting and flaring in 2024 as compared to 2023. Altogether, operators captured over 99 percent of the methane that was produced in the state in 2024. However, operators in New Mexico still wasted a combined 11.5 billion cubic feet of methane through venting and flaring in 2024.
This report highlights the real-life toll oil and gas production takes on land, water, and air in the West. Companies in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming spilled at least 7 million gallons of contaminated liquid and crude oil on Western soil in 2024, endangering water sources, wildlife, and human health.
Meanwhile, companies in New Mexico wasted billions of cubic feet of methane through venting and flaring, exacerbating climate change and polluting the air that New Mexicans breathe. We should not accept this as the cost of producing energy in the West.
If there’s one thing to take away from this report, it’s that oil and gas production is inherently dangerous. It defiles our physical environment and contributes to climate change. And while strong regulations and fines seem to help, there’s no way to produce oil and gas without the occurrence of spills, venting, and flaring.
Kate Groetzinger is Communications Manager with Center for Western Priorities.