As per unique research conducted with The Climate 202, the number of abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S. is significantly larger than previously expected.
In the study conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund and McGill University 81,283 orphan pools were dug and subsequently misused by oil and gas corporations across the country. The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, which is a national governmental agency, estimates almost 1,5 times the previous estimation of about 56,000 wells.
A big climate issue is every orphan well: it sprinkles methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
“We can plug all these documented wells, but there are still going to be undocumented wells that are causing problems. So we might just be scratching the surface,” declared author Mary Kang.
The study also showed that about 9 million Americans live within 1 kilometer of a well, of whom 4.3 million are colored and 550,000 children younger than 5 are more sensitive to air-pollution-related health issues.
In order to solve the abandoned wells problem, the Revive Economic Growth and Reclaim Orphaned Wells (REGROW) Act was propsed.
“The REGROW Act is a critical step forward in cleaning up orphaned oil and gas wells, which can leak methane, contaminate groundwater and create community safety risks. New Mexico and so many states across the country need skilled energy workers back to work and focused on the primary goal of plugging every documented orphaned well in the country,” explained senator Ben Ray Luján.
Abandonment is the failure of an operator to diligently pursue the production of oil from a well.
The abandonment of an oil well can occur for a number of reasons, but most commonly due to economic factors. The operator may have determined that the development of the well is not economically feasible, or they may simply have stopped investing in the well.
The abandonment of an oil well is an official action by the state of the jurisdiction in which the well is located. The abandonment process is regulated by laws and consists of several legal steps.
