I've been following on the MSOGB the progress of a gas well in Copiah County being drilled by Venture Oil and Gas. Unfortunately this well is a dry hole. What I don't understand is why they will take almost a year to plug this well. The Sanders 8-8 was spud on 10/8/13 and completed on 11/11/13. The status was changed from Drilling to Plugged and Abandoned on 1/3/14. The Plug and Abandoned date is scheduled for 11/14/14 with the Plugging date being 12/10/14. Is it normal to take that long to plug a well?

Venture also has another well close by, the Sanders 8-2 which was drilled in 2010 with a change of operator to Venture in 2013. This well showed initial production being "N/A Under Evaluation" in 2010 and has been Closed In ever since. I guess I'm trying to understand more about why some wells become closed in and others are plugged and abandoned. Thanks much for any help.