Energy Exchange

New bipartisan legislation would give U.S. orphan well management efforts a huge boost

By EDF Blogs / Published: August 7, 2023

Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) meets with oil industry and environmental group leaders at kick-off event for orphan well remediation program in Adams County, CO

By Adam Peltz and Meg Coleman

Across the country, a million or more orphaned oil and gas wells threaten the climate, public health, groundwater and surface waters and hamper local economic development. Help is on the way thanks to a major federal effort to invest $4.7 billion in closing orphan wells under the Revive Economic Growth and Reclaim Orphaned Wells Act as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but the scale of the problem is vast.

In order to get a handle on these orphaned wells, New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján , Democrat, and North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, Republican, worked together to secure well closure funding in BIL. Now, they have reintroduced the Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act and a bipartisan group in the House led by Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee, Democrat, and republican Oklahoma Rep. Stephanie Bice have introduced a companion bill. This important, bipartisan legislation would invest more than $150 million over the next five years to help find an estimated 800,000 undocumented orphan wells, reuse those we can for beneficial purposes and ultimately close all of the rest more effectively and affordably. While partisan politics seem to divide the Capitol these days, it is exciting to see leaders on both sides of the aisle come together to address orphan wells.

Also posted in Air Quality, Methane / Tagged New Mexico | Authors: admin / Comments are closed

New rules could mean less waste, less pollution and more jobs for Louisiana

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 31, 2023

By Adam Peltz and Elizabeth Lieberknecht

Recently, Louisiana, under the leadership of Gov. John Bel Edwards, became the latest state taking action to curb pollution and waste from oil and gas production. In a new proposal, the state says it will limit natural gas venting and flaring and attempt to reduce the risk of thousands of idle wells becoming orphaned. Both actions will help create jobs, protect taxpayers and safeguard the environment. Here’s how.

Also posted in Air Quality, Flaring, Methane / Authors: admin / Comments are closed

Colorado’s methane pollution verification rule is a game-changer: here are three reasons why

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 31, 2023

By Nini Gu

On Thursday, July 20^th we saw a major shift in how methane emissions from oil and gas sources can be regulated, and to no one’s surprise it came from the nation’s leading state on this issue: Colorado.

Also posted in Air Quality, Colorado / Authors: admin / Comments are closed

Analysis: Cutting oil and gas methane is one of Canada’s most affordable climate solutions

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 18, 2023

By Ari Pottens and Maureen Lackner

New research confirms that cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector is one of the fastest and most affordable steps Canada can take to help address the climate crisis. According to the report by Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors, Canada’s upstream oil and gas companies can eliminate 75% of their methane emissions at an average cost of about $11 per tonne.

This is one of the biggest bargains that exists when it comes to climate solutions. For example, were oil and gas companies subject to Canada’s entire carbon price, they would need to pay $65 per tonne of carbon pollution they create. By 2030, this figure will rise to $170 per tonne. Meanwhile, technologies that can directly capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are estimated to cost between $125 and $335 USD per tonne, an astronomical figure compared to methane abatement. Read More »

Also posted in Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Without action, unreported methane pollution from Saskatchewan could threaten Canada’s climate goals and create more fallout from climate change

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 13, 2023

By Ari Pottens and Scott Seymour

It’s no secret that the rampant, out-of-control wildfires which are devastating parts of Canada and creating toxic air quality conditions for millions of people, are exacerbated by climate change. This makes it all the more crucial to rapidly reduce the greenhouse gases behind the climate crisis.

In 2020, Canada’s federal government implemented new regulations to stem the methane emitted from the oil and gas industry — the leading source of methane in the country. The protections were intended to help cut emissions by 40% – 45% by 2025. Subsequently, the federal government significantly increased its methane ambition and set a 75% reduction goal by 2030.

But a new study is revealing some problems with the way Saskatchewan is managing emissions from a very specific type of oil production known as Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand. It just so happens that a lot of gas, most of which is methane, also comes out during this process. Read More »

Also posted in Air Quality, Climate, Methane / Tagged Canada | Authors: admin / Comments are closed

Landmark study reveals that millions of Americans live less than a mile from an orphaned oil and gas well

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 11, 2023

By Adam Peltz & Kate Roberts

This week, the Department of the Interior announced nearly $660 million in grant funding to plug orphan wells across the U.S., adding to $560 million in initial funding from last summer. The news comes on the heels of new research led by researchers at McGill University and EDF experts that quantifies the extent of the orphan well problem this funding will begin to tackle.

The study found that at least 4.6 million people are living within about a half mile of an orphaned oil and gas well. Published in June 2023 in Environmental Research Letters, the study examined the environmental risks of orphaned wells and how plugging or repurposing wells could play a role in the transition to net zero. An additional key finding is that many essential technical details about this well set, like depth and condition, and environmental impacts, including methane emission rates and whether they have caused groundwater contamination, are largely unknown.

Also posted in Air Quality / Authors: admin / Comments are closed