Financial Assurance
In order to conduct oil and gas operations in Colorado, an operator must provide financial assurance -- commonly called a bond -- that demonstrates they are capable of fulfilling every financial obligation imposed by the Commission.
The Commission claims a bond when an operator fails to perform statutory and regulatory obligations and releases a bond when an operator has complied with all such obligations. Financial assurance requirements and procedures are set out in the Commission’s 700-Series Rules and were recently updated in the 2022 Financial Assurances Rulemaking, required by SB19-181.
ECMC's Financial Assurance team is responsible for registration of new operators, registration of designated agents, approval of financial assurance plans and instruments, and audits of financial assurance. Contact the team with questions.
Questions
Sharon Schoepflin, Financial Assurance & Audits Supervisor
Email: sharon.schoepflin@state.co.us
Phone: (720) 467-4887
Initial Financial Assurance Plan Submission Deadlines
The deadline for an Operator's Initial Financial Assurance Plan submission is based upon the number of Wells the Operator had on April 30, 2022. The April 30, 2022 Operator Well Count list is available here.
The revised deadlines as describe in the NTO (Notice to Operators) are:
| November 1, 2022 | Operators with 50 or more wells |
| December 1, 2022 | Operators with more than 10 but fewer than 50 wells |
| Februrary 1, 2023 | Operators with 10 or fewer wells |