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The methane that is quietly oozing from abandoned oil and gas wells in the United States is invisible and odorless—yet it has the ability to wreak havoc on the climate in a major way. Compared to CO2, methane is a much more potent climate gas. It exhibits 25-80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide in addition to acting faster. A reduction of methane emissions could therefore slow the progress of climate change in the short term, scientists hope. The United States government is now trying to tackle the issue by sending a total of $1.15 billion to 26 states in order to plug leaky abandoned ..read more

Texas has a serious problem with orphaned wells and while the state might not have a plan the federal government does. The Department of the Interior has announced that Texas will receive over $343 million to cap orphan wells.  Orphan wells are inactive oil and gas wells owned by defunct or bankrupt companies. An inactive well can pose an environmental hazard by leaking toxic chemicals into groundwater or methane in the air, so companies are legally required to plug wells with concrete when they’re done with them. However, since the owners of orphan wells either can’t ..read more

Pennsylvania is set to get an influx of federal infrastructure money to plug abandoned oil and gas wells. The commonwealth is eligible for $104 million from the new program in its first phase, more than any other state except Texas. The Department of Environmental Protection estimates 1,389 wells could be plugged with the money. Pennsylvania has a lot of orphan and abandoned wells, due to its long history with the oil and gas industry. In a notice to the federal government, DEP said there are nearly 27,000 abandoned wells on state and private property. But it estimates there are more than ..read more

The bipartisan federal infrastructure law appropriated $58.6 million to cap more than 5,400 oil and gas wells in Kansas that have been abandoned by owners and threaten water supplies or pose other environmental hazards. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat serving the Third District in eastern Kansas, said the state had thousands of wells polluting public spaces, recreational areas or private property. The federal law included aid to deal with an estimated 5,400 orphan wells in Kansas, Davids said. She said the list of defunct wells included 34 in Johnson County and at least 375 in Miami Count ..read more

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – The U.S. Department of Interior will provide Kentucky with nearly $104 million to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Wednesday. The state will receive $103,981,000 for the effort, which comes from last year’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provides federal investment for improvements to Kentucky’s roads, highways, railroads, airports, broadband, and more. Kentucky has more than 14,000 orphaned well sites which is some of the most in the United States, and accounts for nearly 18% of the ..read more

Oklahoma will receive about $78 million out of more than $1.1 billion President Biden says will be used to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells nationwide—wells that are a source of methane emissions. Under the plan to be implemented by the Interior Department, Oklahoma’s share in the first phase would $78,168,000 but the amount could grow in later phases to $230,227,000. Oklahoma is one of 26 states that will be eligible for the cleanup funds. “President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is enabling us to confront the legacy pollution and long-standing environmental injustices t ..read more

Federal officials announced the state’s allotment to fight “legacy pollution” and to replace jobs lost in the oil and gas industry. Colorado can expect tens of millions from the federal government to plug and restore hundreds of orphaned oil and gas wells out of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Congress passed last year, government officials said. In all the infrastructure bill set aside $4.7 billion nationally to clean orphaned wells, and White House officials broke down how the first $1.15 billion would be spent during a news conference Tuesday. So far 26 states qu ..read more

CLEVELAND, Ohio -Ohio is expected to get a large chunk of the billions of dollars the Biden Administration will be doling out to clean up “orphaned” oil and gas wells around the country. The first phase will total $1.15 billion, with Ohio eligible to receive nearly $85 million, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. The total for the well-capping program over five years is $4.7 billion, with Ohio to receive about $256 million. A report issued by the Environmental Defense Fund states that there are more than 81,000 “documented orphan wells” in the country with 891 of ..read more

SHELBY, Mt. — A veteran of the oil industry, Curtis Shuck is on a new path these days: cleaning up the mess left behind by orphaned wells. Orphaned wells are oil or natural gas wells that have been abandoned by companies for one reason or another. Like a straw stuck into a juice box, these wells have been left open, many for decades, and are leaking toxins, like methane gas, into the environment. But now, the problem of orphaned wells is becoming too big to be ignored. It’s hard to get exact numbers because the previous owners of the wells are defunct, but the environmental protection agency e ..read more