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1. By 5 August 2025, Member States shall establish and make publicly available an inventory of all inactive wells, temporarily plugged wells and permanently plugged and abandoned wells on their territory or under their jurisdiction that are recorded or where information or evidence on their location is available or where their location can be identified with all reasonable efforts. That inventory shall include at least the elements set out in Part 1 of Annex V. Member States shall maintain and keep up to date that inventory, including by taking all reasonable efforts to locate and document all identified inactive wells, temporarily plugged wells and permanently plugged and abandoned wells located on their territory or under their jurisdiction, based on a robust assessment taking into account the most up-to-date scientific findings and best available techniques.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States that notify to the Commission evidence of the existence on their territory or under their jurisdiction of 40 000 or more recorded inactive wells, temporarily plugged wells and permanently plugged and abandoned wells combined may adopt a plan for completing the inventory referred to in paragraph 1 and the quantification of methane emissions or the demonstration that there are no methane emissions, as applicable, in relation to those wells, including at least the elements set out in Part 1 of Annex V, and make it publicly available, provided that:

(a) by 5 August 2025, at least 20 % of those wells are included in the inventory with priority being given to inactive wells and temporary plugged wells;

(b) by 5 August 2026, at least 40 % of those wells are included in the inventory;

(c) every 12 months after 5 August 2026, at least an additional 15 % of those wells are included in the inventory;

(d) all wells are included into the inventory by 5 August 2030. That plan shall be subject to approval of the competent authorities.

3. Without prejudice to paragraph 4, reports containing information on quantification of methane emissions and, where pressure monitoring equipment exists, information on pressure monitoring from all inactive wells and temporarily plugged wells shall be submitted to the competent authorities by 5 May 2026 and by 31 May every year thereafter. Those reports shall include quantification of methane emissions to air and to water and information on pressure monitoring, where applicable, using the standards or technical prescriptions established under Article 32. Until the date of application of those standards or technical prescriptions, operators and Member States, as applicable, shall follow state-of-the-art industry practices and use the best available technologies for the measurement and quantification of methane emissions. Where operators or Member States report methane emissions within the framework of international or regional agreements to which the Union or the relevant Member State is a party, the reports referred to in this paragraph may include information reported within the framework of such agreements. Reports concerning inactive wells and temporarily plugged wells located in Member States with 40 000 or more inactive wells, temporarily plugged wells and permanently plugged and abandoned wells combined shall be submitted by 12 months from the inclusion of each of the wells in the inventory and by 31 May every year thereafter.

4. Where the competent authorities are provided with quantification of methane emissions and, where pressure monitoring equipment exists, pressure monitoring data that prove that there have been no methane emissions from an onshore temporarily plugged well during the last 5 years, paragraph 3 shall cease to apply to that well. Where the competent authorities are provided with quantification of methane emissions and, where pressure monitoring equipment exists, pressure monitoring data that prove that there have been no methane emissions from an offshore inactive well or offshore temporarily plugged well during the last 3 years, paragraph 3 shall cease to apply to that well.

5. Where the competent authorities are provided with reliable evidence of material amounts of methane emissions in an offshore inactive well or in a temporarily plugged well after the period referred to in paragraph 4, or in a permanently plugged and abandoned well and where that evidence has been confirmed by an independent third party, the competent authorities shall decide on the application to that well of the obligations set out in this Article in relation to temporarily plugged wells.

6. Where methane emissions are detected in inactive wells, temporarily plugged wells or permanently plugged and abandoned wells, Member States or the party responsible pursuant to paragraph 8 shall take all the necessary measures available to them for remediating, reclaiming and permanently plugging that well, as applicable, where technically feasible and taking into account the environmental impact of the necessary works in view of the associated reduction of the methane emissions.

7. Before submission to the competent authorities, the reports referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article shall be assessed by a verifier and shall include a verification statement issued in accordance with Article 8.

8. Member States shall ensure that operators fulfil the obligations laid down in paragraphs 3 to 7 and paragraph 9. Where an operator, owner, licensee or a party otherwise responsible for the well under national law provides to the competent authority adequate and reliable evidence to demonstrate that it does not have the adequate financial means to fulfil those obligations or where the party responsible cannot be identified, the Member State shall bear responsibility for those obligations.

9. By 5 August 2026, Member States or the party responsible pursuant to paragraph 8, shall prepare a mitigation plan to remediate, reclaim and permanently plug inactive wells and temporarily plugged wells including at least the elements set out in Part 2 of Annex V, and implement it within 12 months from the submission of the first report referred to in paragraph 3. By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, where a Member State or the party responsible pursuant to paragraph 8 can demonstrate that the implementation of that mitigation plan is not possible within that deadline due to safety, administrative or technical considerations, they may delay its implementation. The mitigation plan shall include all the necessary evidence justifying such a decision. In such cases, the implementation shall be carried out as soon as possible ensuring that the end date for the mitigation actions for each well does not exceed 3 years from the submission of the first report referred to in paragraph 3. The competent authorities may require the party responsible to amend the mitigation plan taking into account the requirements of this Regulation. Member States or the party responsible pursuant to paragraph 8 shall regularly update the mitigation plan, in line with the inventory referred to in paragraph 1 and the reports referred to in paragraph 3 and any changes or new information derived therefrom, and based on a robust assessment taking into account the most up-to-date scientific findings and best available techniques. Mitigation plans shall use the inventory referred to in paragraph 1 and the reports referred to in paragraph 3 to determine priority for activities, including:

(a) remediating, reclaiming and permanently plugging wells;

(b) reclaiming related access roads or the surrounding soil under water, as applicable;

(c) restoring land, water, seabed and habitat impacted by wells and the prior operations;

(d) monitoring to ensure plugged wells are not a source of methane emissions in accordance with this Article.

10. The competent authorities shall review and make the reports and mitigation plans referred to in this Article available to the public and the Commission in accordance with Article 5(4), within 3 months from their submission by an operator or the completion of a mitigation plan by a Member State.

11. Without prejudice to Directives 2008/56/EC and 2013/30/EU, the competent authorities may decide to exempt offshore oil and gas wells located at a water depth greater than 700 metres from the requirements under paragraph 3 or 9 of this Article, if robust evidence can be provided that the impact on the climate of potential methane emissions from those wells is highly likely to be negligible.

12. Without prejudice to Directives 2008/56/EC and 2013/30/EU, and subject to the approval of the competent authorities, offshore temporarily plugged wells and permanently plugged and abandoned wells located at water depth between 200 and 700 metres may be exempted from the requirements under paragraph 3 or 9 of this Article, where the operator can demonstrate that the impact on the climate of potential methane emissions from those wells is highly likely to be negligible by a reference to an environmental impact assessment conducted before drilling or after accidents during operations.