View article

Millions of oil and gas wells are abandoned and orphaned around the world. Due to funding shortfalls, many abandoned and orphaned wells remain unplugged and are negatively impacting the environment and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, such as methane. To reduce emissions and environmental impacts, the wells are required to be plugged, but the well sites can be repurposed for wind and solar energy and/or the wells itself can be redeveloped for geothermal energy production. To quantify methane emissions and identify opportunities for repurposing abandoned and orphaned wells and well sites for renewable energy development, we analyze public oil and gas well data from governmental agencies of documented abandoned and orphaned wells in Canada and the United States. We estimate the total number of abandoned and orphaned wells in Canada and the United States to be 3,500,602 …