Overview

Across the West, spills from oil and gas production harm landscapes, water sources, wildlife habitat, and communities. In Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming—the Mountain West’s top oil and gas-producing states—companies report thousands of spills each year, which release millions of gallons of toxic materials, such as crude oil and polluted water.

For example, a recent well blow-out that occurred in Colorado spewed water, chemicals, and crude oil for nearly four days. The well released 3.8 million gallons of liquid, which reached an elementary school, roadways, multiple properties, and nearby waterways. This is just one example of how oil and gas-related spills affect land and water throughout the West. (This spill is not included in this report, as it occurred in April 2025, but will be in next year’s report.) 

Each year, the Center for Western Priorities analyzes data collected by Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming for wells on private, federal, and state land. All three states require oil and gas companies, or well operators, to file a report each time oil or drilling materials are spilled. New Mexico also requires operators to report incidents of routine and emergency methane venting and flaring (methane waste events). Operators in New Mexico and Colorado reported a decrease in the total number of drilling-related spills in 2024, while the number of spills in Wyoming went up. Operators in Wyoming reported a 29 percent increase in the amount of drilling-related liquid spilled in 2024, as compared to 2023. 

Global energy prices affect the amount of oil and gas produced in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. But an increase in production does not always drive an increase in spills. Average global oil prices were approximately the same in 2024 as 2023. Oil production was up by around 10 percent in New Mexico and Wyoming, while production in Colorado was essentially the same. Methane (natural gas) production in New Mexico was up around 13 percent in 2024.

In 2021, New Mexico passed a number of rules meant to curb drilling-related spills as well as methane waste. One of these allows regulators to fine operators for all spills. Previously operators only faced fines for failing to report a spill. The volume of liquid reported spilled in New Mexico has gone down each year since 2022, while oil production has gone up, suggesting this regulation may be working.

New Mexico also passed a rule in 2021 requiring oil and gas operators in the state to capture 98 percent of their methane waste by the end of 2026. The rule required operators to establish a baseline capture rate over the fourth quarter of 2021 and first quarter of 2022 and then demonstrate progress toward increasing that rate each year. Operators in New Mexico reported a 43 percent decrease in the amount of methane, or natural gas, wasted through venting and flaring in 2024, as compared to 2023. Over 99 percent of the total methane produced in New Mexico has been captured each year since the state began tracking this data in 2022, but operators still waste billions of cubic feet of methane annually.