Authors
Jade Boutot, Mary Kang
Publication date
2023/5
Journal
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
Pages
EGU-7310
Description
Millions of oil and gas wells are abandoned and orphaned in Canada and the United States. These well sites can be repurposed for wind and solar energy, while the wells access itself can be redeveloped for geothermal energy production. To identify opportunities for repurposing abandoned and orphaned wells and well sites for renewable energy development, we analyze public oil and gas well data from state, provincial, and territorial agencies to estimate the number and geospatial distribution of abandoned and orphaned wells in Canada and the United States. As of March 2022, we identify 4,724 orphaned wells and 420,113 abandoned wells in Canada and identify 123,318 orphaned wells (as of March 2022) and 3,151,700 abandoned wells (as of August 2022) in the United States. Using this dataset, we analyze geographic locations of abandoned and orphaned wells with national maps of renewable energy …