New mexico sues three texas oil executives for allegedly pocketing profits while dumping cleanup costs on taxpayers

New Mexico has filed a sweeping lawsuit against three Texas oil executives, accusing them of orchestrating what the state calls “a fraudulent scheme” to extract profits from hundreds of oil wells while leaving taxpayers to foot the multimillion-dollar cleanup bill. The 72-page complaint targets Everett Willard Gray II, Robert Stitzel, and Marquis Reed Gilmore Jr., all based in Midland, Texas, for allegedly manipulating a web of shell companies and strategic bankruptcies to avoid their environmental responsibilities.

According to the lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, the three men repeatedly shuffled profitable wells between companies they controlled while abandoning less valuable properties through bankruptcy proceedings. When companies like Remnant and Acacia went under, the executives allegedly moved their best-performing wells to other entities they owned, leaving behind a toxic legacy of unplugged wells that leak methane, hydrogen sulfide, and contaminated wastewater. A 2024 investigation by ProPublica and Capital & Main found some abandoned wells emitting such dangerous levels of gases that the surrounding air could explode if ignited.

The case highlights a broader crisis facing oil-producing states: inadequate bonding requirements that leave taxpayers vulnerable when companies walk away. New Mexico faces an estimated $1.6 billion bill to plug orphaned wells statewide, while current industry bonds cover less than 2% of actual cleanup costs. Gray denies the allegations, calling the lawsuit “meritless,” while his company pivots to AI data center development. Environmental advocates say this case represents a common industry “playbook” that privatizes profits while socializing environmental costs, prompting New Mexico to pursue major reforms to prevent future taxpayer bailouts.