Orphaned oil and gas well stimulus—Maximizing economic and environmental benefits
Orphaned oil and gas wells are abandoned wells for which the cost of environmental impacts usually falls on governments and the general public. Government agencies responsible for well plugging often face funding shortfalls and many orphaned wells remain unplugged. To address this and support the oi...
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description | Orphaned oil and gas wells are abandoned wells for which the cost of environmental impacts usually falls on governments and the general public. Government agencies responsible for well plugging often face funding shortfalls and many orphaned wells remain unplugged. To address this and support the oil and natural gas industry, federal governments are already spending, or considering spending, billions of dollars to plug orphaned oil and gas wells. Here, we analyze oil and gas data for the United States and Canada and identify policy recommendations that can best address environmental impacts of abandoned and orphaned wells. At least 116,245 wells across 32 states and four Canadian provinces/territories are operated by companies filing for bankruptcy in the first half of 2020, which may be an indication that many wells will be orphaned in the near future. Moreover, there are 4,700,000 historic and active oil and gas wells in the United States and another 790,000 in Canada. Of these, 2,000,000 and 310,000 wells are active in the United States and Canada, respectively. Thus, three of five wells ever drilled in the United States are currently inactive (2,700,000 wells), but only one in three are plugged (1,500,000 wells). Plugging involves isolating zones containing oil, gas, and water and is the main strategy for well abandonment. If the orphaned well stimulus funding comes through, tens of thousands of wells will be plugged within a few years. Well plugging at this scale far exceeds current rates of plugging, and it is important that we work to ensure long-term environmental benefits of well abandonment to water, air, climate, ecosystems, and human health. Minimizing environmental impacts of the millions of abandoned and orphaned wells in the United States, Canada, and abroad will allow for an economically beneficial and environmentally safe transition to a carbon-neutral economy. |
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Government agencies responsible for well plugging often face funding shortfalls and many orphaned wells remain unplugged. To address this and support the oil and natural gas industry, federal governments are already spending, or considering spending, billions of dollars to plug orphaned oil and gas wells. Here, we analyze oil and gas data for the United States and Canada and identify policy recommendations that can best address environmental impacts of abandoned and orphaned wells. At least 116,245 wells across 32 states and four Canadian provinces/territories are operated by companies filing for bankruptcy in the first half of 2020, which may be an indication that many wells will be orphaned in the near future. Moreover, there are 4,700,000 historic and active oil and gas wells in the United States and another 790,000 in Canada. Of these, 2,000,000 and 310,000 wells are active in the United States and Canada, respectively. Thus, three of five wells ever drilled in the United States are currently inactive (2,700,000 wells), but only one in three are plugged (1,500,000 wells). Plugging involves isolating zones containing oil, gas, and water and is the main strategy for well abandonment. If the orphaned well stimulus funding comes through, tens of thousands of wells will be plugged within a few years. Well plugging at this scale far exceeds current rates of plugging, and it is important that we work to ensure long-term environmental benefits of well abandonment to water, air, climate, ecosystems, and human health. Minimizing environmental impacts of the millions of abandoned and orphaned wells in the United States, Canada, and abroad will allow for an economically beneficial and environmentally safe transition to a carbon-neutral economy.</description><identifier>ISSN: 2325-1026</identifier><identifier>EISSN: 2325-1026</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.1525/elementa.2020.20.00161</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>Oakland: University of California Press, Journals & Digital Publishing Division</publisher><subject>Abandoned wells ; Aquifers ; Bankruptcy ; Bankruptcy reorganization ; Contamination ; Coronaviruses ; COVID-19 ; Environmental impact ; Environmental protection ; Funding ; Gas industry ; Gas wells ; Gases ; Government agencies ; Groundwater ; Natural gas ; Natural gas industry ; Natural gas utilities ; Oil ; Oil and gas industry ; Plugging ; Wells</subject><ispartof>Elementa (Washington, D.C.), 2021-04, Vol.9 (1)</ispartof><rights>2021 The Author(s). This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.</rights><lds50>peer_reviewed</lds50><oa>free_for_read</oa><woscitedreferencessubscribed>false</woscitedreferencessubscribed><citedby>FETCH-LOGICAL-c397t-5bfc7c698503d335d8263414b65c1a5571dc220080107166c795f2530fd8fbf83</citedby><cites>FETCH-LOGICAL-c397t-5bfc7c698503d335d8263414b65c1a5571dc220080107166c795f2530fd8fbf83</cites></display><links><openurl>$$Topenurl_article</openurl><openurlfulltext>$$Topenurlfull_article</openurlfulltext><thumbnail>$$Tsyndetics_thumb_exl</thumbnail><link.rule.ids>314,780,784,27923,27924</link.rule.ids></links><search><creatorcontrib>Kang, Mary</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Brandt, Adam R.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Zheng, Zhong</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Boutot, Jade</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Yung, Chantel</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Peltz, Adam S.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Jackson, Robert B.</creatorcontrib><title>Orphaned oil and gas well stimulus—Maximizing economic and environmental benefits</title><title>Elementa (Washington, D.C.)</title><description>Orphaned oil and gas wells are abandoned wells for which the cost of environmental impacts usually falls on governments and the general public. Government agencies responsible for well plugging often face funding shortfalls and many orphaned wells remain unplugged. To address this and support the oil and natural gas industry, federal governments are already spending, or considering spending, billions of dollars to plug orphaned oil and gas wells. Here, we analyze oil and gas data for the United States and Canada and identify policy recommendations that can best address environmental impacts of abandoned and orphaned wells. At least 116,245 wells across 32 states and four Canadian provinces/territories are operated by companies filing for bankruptcy in the first half of 2020, which may be an indication that many wells will be orphaned in the near future. Moreover, there are 4,700,000 historic and active oil and gas wells in the United States and another 790,000 in Canada. Of these, 2,000,000 and 310,000 wells are active in the United States and Canada, respectively. Thus, three of five wells ever drilled in the United States are currently inactive (2,700,000 wells), but only one in three are plugged (1,500,000 wells). Plugging involves isolating zones containing oil, gas, and water and is the main strategy for well abandonment. If the orphaned well stimulus funding comes through, tens of thousands of wells will be plugged within a few years. Well plugging at this scale far exceeds current rates of plugging, and it is important that we work to ensure long-term environmental benefits of well abandonment to water, air, climate, ecosystems, and human health. Minimizing environmental impacts of the millions of abandoned and orphaned wells in the United States, Canada, and abroad will allow for an economically beneficial and environmentally safe transition to a carbon-neutral economy.</description><subject>Abandoned wells</subject><subject>Aquifers</subject><subject>Bankruptcy</subject><subject>Bankruptcy reorganization</subject><subject>Contamination</subject><subject>Coronaviruses</subject><subject>COVID-19</subject><subject>Environmental impact</subject><subject>Environmental protection</subject><subject>Funding</subject><subject>Gas industry</subject><subject>Gas wells</subject><subject>Gases</subject><subject>Government agencies</subject><subject>Groundwater</subject><subject>Natural gas</subject><subject>Natural gas industry</subject><subject>Natural gas utilities</subject><subject>Oil</subject><subject>Oil and gas industry</subject><subject>Plugging</subject><subject>Wells</subject><issn>2325-1026</issn><issn>2325-1026</issn><fulltext>true</fulltext><rsrctype>article</rsrctype><creationdate>2021</creationdate><recordtype>article</recordtype><sourceid>ABUWG</sourceid><sourceid>AFKRA</sourceid><sourceid>AZQEC</sourceid><sourceid>BENPR</sourceid><sourceid>CCPQU</sourceid><sourceid>DWQXO</sourceid><sourceid>GNUQQ</sourceid><recordid>eNpNkMtOwzAQRS0EElXpL6BIrFPscey4S1Txkoq6ANaW49jFleMUO-G14iP4Qr6EtAWJzZ1ZHM1cHYROCZ4SBuzceNOY0KkpYMBDTDEmnBygEVBgOcHAD__tx2iS0hoPDC6hABih-2XcPKlg6qx1PlOhzlYqZa_G-yx1rul9n74_v-7Um2vchwurzOg2tI3TO9aEFxfbsGvgs8oEY12XTtCRVT6Zye8co8ery4f5Tb5YXt_OLxa5prOyy1lldan5TDBMa0pZLYDTghQVZ5ooxkpSawCMxbYt4VyXM2aBUWxrYSsr6Bid7e9uYvvcm9TJddvHMLyUUFLBORUYBorvKR3blKKxchNdo-K7JFhuHco_h3LrcAi5c0h_AE9mZ34</recordid><startdate>20210428</startdate><enddate>20210428</enddate><creator>Kang, Mary</creator><creator>Brandt, Adam R.</creator><creator>Zheng, Zhong</creator><creator>Boutot, Jade</creator><creator>Yung, Chantel</creator><creator>Peltz, Adam S.</creator><creator>Jackson, Robert B.</creator><general>University of California Press, Journals & Digital Publishing Division</general><scope>AAYXX</scope><scope>CITATION</scope><scope>8FE</scope><scope>8FG</scope><scope>ABJCF</scope><scope>ABUWG</scope><scope>AEUYN</scope><scope>AFKRA</scope><scope>ATCPS</scope><scope>AZQEC</scope><scope>BENPR</scope><scope>BGLVJ</scope><scope>BHPHI</scope><scope>BKSAR</scope><scope>CCPQU</scope><scope>DWQXO</scope><scope>GNUQQ</scope><scope>HCIFZ</scope><scope>L6V</scope><scope>M7S</scope><scope>PATMY</scope><scope>PCBAR</scope><scope>PIMPY</scope><scope>PQEST</scope><scope>PQQKQ</scope><scope>PQUKI</scope><scope>PTHSS</scope><scope>PYCSY</scope></search><sort><creationdate>20210428</creationdate><title>Orphaned oil and gas well stimulus—Maximizing economic and environmental benefits</title><author>Kang, Mary ; Brandt, Adam R. ; Zheng, Zhong ; Boutot, Jade ; Yung, Chantel ; Peltz, Adam S. ; Jackson, Robert B.</author></sort><facets><frbrtype>5</frbrtype><frbrgroupid>cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c397t-5bfc7c698503d335d8263414b65c1a5571dc220080107166c795f2530fd8fbf83</frbrgroupid><rsrctype>articles</rsrctype><prefilter>articles</prefilter><language>eng</language><creationdate>2021</creationdate><topic>Abandoned wells</topic><topic>Aquifers</topic><topic>Bankruptcy</topic><topic>Bankruptcy reorganization</topic><topic>Contamination</topic><topic>Coronaviruses</topic><topic>COVID-19</topic><topic>Environmental impact</topic><topic>Environmental protection</topic><topic>Funding</topic><topic>Gas industry</topic><topic>Gas wells</topic><topic>Gases</topic><topic>Government agencies</topic><topic>Groundwater</topic><topic>Natural gas</topic><topic>Natural gas industry</topic><topic>Natural gas utilities</topic><topic>Oil</topic><topic>Oil and gas industry</topic><topic>Plugging</topic><topic>Wells</topic><toplevel>peer_reviewed</toplevel><toplevel>online_resources</toplevel><creatorcontrib>Kang, Mary</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Brandt, Adam R.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Zheng, Zhong</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Boutot, Jade</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Yung, Chantel</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Peltz, Adam S.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Jackson, Robert B.</creatorcontrib><collection>CrossRef</collection><collection>ProQuest SciTech Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Technology Collection</collection><collection>Materials Science & Engineering Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>ProQuest One Sustainability</collection><collection>ProQuest Central UK/Ireland</collection><collection>Agricultural & Environmental Science Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Essentials</collection><collection>ProQuest Central</collection><collection>Technology Collection</collection><collection>Natural Science Collection</collection><collection>Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest One Community College</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Korea</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Student</collection><collection>SciTech Premium Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Engineering Collection</collection><collection>Engineering Database</collection><collection>Environmental Science Database</collection><collection>Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Database</collection><collection>Publicly Available Content Database</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic Eastern Edition (DO NOT USE)</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic UKI Edition</collection><collection>Engineering Collection</collection><collection>Environmental Science Collection</collection><jtitle>Elementa (Washington, D.C.)</jtitle></facets><delivery><delcategory>Remote Search Resource</delcategory><fulltext>fulltext</fulltext></delivery><addata><au>Kang, Mary</au><au>Brandt, Adam R.</au><au>Zheng, Zhong</au><au>Boutot, Jade</au><au>Yung, Chantel</au><au>Peltz, Adam S.</au><au>Jackson, Robert B.</au><format>journal</format><genre>article</genre><ristype>JOUR</ristype><atitle>Orphaned oil and gas well stimulus—Maximizing economic and environmental benefits</atitle><jtitle>Elementa (Washington, D.C.)</jtitle><date>2021-04-28</date><risdate>2021</risdate><volume>9</volume><issue>1</issue><issn>2325-1026</issn><eissn>2325-1026</eissn><abstract>Orphaned oil and gas wells are abandoned wells for which the cost of environmental impacts usually falls on governments and the general public. Government agencies responsible for well plugging often face funding shortfalls and many orphaned wells remain unplugged. To address this and support the oil and natural gas industry, federal governments are already spending, or considering spending, billions of dollars to plug orphaned oil and gas wells. Here, we analyze oil and gas data for the United States and Canada and identify policy recommendations that can best address environmental impacts of abandoned and orphaned wells. At least 116,245 wells across 32 states and four Canadian provinces/territories are operated by companies filing for bankruptcy in the first half of 2020, which may be an indication that many wells will be orphaned in the near future. Moreover, there are 4,700,000 historic and active oil and gas wells in the United States and another 790,000 in Canada. Of these, 2,000,000 and 310,000 wells are active in the United States and Canada, respectively. Thus, three of five wells ever drilled in the United States are currently inactive (2,700,000 wells), but only one in three are plugged (1,500,000 wells). Plugging involves isolating zones containing oil, gas, and water and is the main strategy for well abandonment. If the orphaned well stimulus funding comes through, tens of thousands of wells will be plugged within a few years. Well plugging at this scale far exceeds current rates of plugging, and it is important that we work to ensure long-term environmental benefits of well abandonment to water, air, climate, ecosystems, and human health. Minimizing environmental impacts of the millions of abandoned and orphaned wells in the United States, Canada, and abroad will allow for an economically beneficial and environmentally safe transition to a carbon-neutral economy.</abstract><cop>Oakland</cop><pub>University of California Press, Journals & Digital Publishing Division</pub><doi>10.1525/elementa.2020.20.00161</doi><oa>free_for_read</oa></addata></record> |
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subjects | Abandoned wells Aquifers Bankruptcy Bankruptcy reorganization Contamination Coronaviruses COVID-19 Environmental impact Environmental protection Funding Gas industry Gas wells Gases Government agencies Groundwater Natural gas Natural gas industry Natural gas utilities Oil Oil and gas industry Plugging Wells |
title | Orphaned oil and gas well stimulus—Maximizing economic and environmental benefits |
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