Bizarretti
The liability terminal for what lies beneath.
AI that shows who owns every idle oil well in California, what it will cost to close, and who pays if the owner can't.
The problem
California's oil legacy has a price tag nobody can see.
Tens of thousands of idle wells sit unplugged across the state. When operators fail or sell aging assets to weaker buyers, the cost of closing them shifts to the state and taxpayers. The data needed to price that risk is scattered across regulatory databases, SEC filings, land records and court dockets, and no one connects it.
35,000+
idle wells in California
5,500+
wells that may already be orphaned
$13.2–21.5B
estimated cost to plug current and future idle and orphan wells
What we build
One view of every well's liability.
- Well profile: owner, status, years idle, estimated closing cost, financial assurance, methane risk, proximity to homes.
- Ownership graph: operator → parent company → full transfer history.
- Liability score: required assurance vs. actual coverage, showing the gap.
- Screener: find operators with growing liability gaps or missed state obligations.
- Deal report: liability and assurance analysis before an acquisition.
- Repurposing layer: wells and sites suited for geothermal, lithium or carbon storage.
Who it's for
- Buyers and sellers of oil & gas assets: know the liability before you sign.
- Sureties and lenders: underwrite closure risk with real data.
- Mineral and royalty owners: understand what your rights are worth and who is responsible.
- Public agencies: prioritize which wells to close first.
- Energy transition developers: find sites with a second life.
Why now
California now requires the industry to price this risk. AB 1167 requires buyers of low-producing wells to post financial assurance covering the full cost of closure. AB 1866 charges escalating fees on idle wells. SB 1137 is reshaping where production can continue. The law creates the demand; Bizarretti provides the data.
Creating shared value
When liability is measured, it gets paid by the industry instead of taxpayers. Fewer abandoned wells means less methane near homes and schools, lower public cost, and land returned to productive use, from geothermal power to restored habitat. Bizarretti earns revenue by making that happen.
Research
"Who Pays for the Hole in the Ground? Measuring and Internalizing Idle-Well Liability in California Oil & Gas"
Research by Anelya Altiyeva, MBA, Golden Gate University. (Add the SSRN link once the paper is published.)