#orphanwells — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #orphanwells, aggregated by home.social.
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"There are millions of abandoned oil wells across the United States. A group of unlikely activists in Texas is making sure no one forgets they need to be cleaned up."
Why doesn't the oil and gas industry move to properly cap these wells?
“They can’t, because it bankrupts the industry as we know it.”
#OrphanWells -
Trouble in paradise.
"Alberta’s oil and gas well problem is a ‘giant stinking pile of shit,’ according to the premier’s special advisor, who wrote the province’s strategy to address the issue and is on the Alberta Energy Regulator board."
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And now, a public service announcement: If you have tips on who’s behind oil and gas companies in Canada that aren’t paying their bills, please contact Prairies reporter Drew Anderson over email at [email protected] or securely over Signal at @Danderson.78.
#ableg #fossilfuels #orphanwells
https://thenarwhal.ca/alberta-oilpatch-delinquent-companies/
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They're baaacckk!
The energy war room is a little late to the game, but they’re now joining the push to convince us David Yager’s plan to shift responsibility for the costs of old oil and gas sites to the public is cool, cool.
Meanwhile, formal challenges to the AER’s decision to let fossil fuel companies pay only a fraction of skyrocketing orphan well costs are bogged down.
And Brian Jean’s Chief of Staff has been showing up at landowner meetings to defend the plan.
Here’s an end of summer update in my newsletter on what is probably more bad news coming our way this fall. 💣
https://jodymacpherson.substack.com/p/the-war-room-defends-yagers-report?r=b0efu
#ableg #cdnpoli #orphanwells #fossilfuels #polluterpays #climate #environment
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Hey, voters in Battle River-Crowfoot: Your $1.5B in well clean-up might be something you want to talk to the candidates about.
“...the federal government could take measures to force the oil industry to pay for cleanup.”
"If the next Member of Parliament elected to Battle River-Crowfoot ensures the federal government takes measures to make the industry pay, Albertans could save big."
#ableg #Poilievre #orphanwells #polluterpay #cdnpoli #byelection #BattleRiver-Crowfoot
https://therockies.life/the-1-5-billion-well-cleanup-burdening-battle-river-crowfoot-riding/
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Notice anything about this report from Ground News on the coverage of the David Yager conflict of interest story?
No coverage from Postmedia outlets in Alberta. Nothing whatsoever on their news sites about Yager when I search. This is how I know this story MUST be reported far and wide.
#ableg #cdnpoli #Postmedia #media #orphanwells #PolluterPayFederation
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For all you night owls out there…my latest is up on The Energy Mix website!
Grandfather of six takes on a senior advisor to Danielle Smith over his conflicts of interest and sole-sourced contracts worth nearly a half a million dollars.
It’s another ethics scandal for Smith’s government.
#ableg #cdnpoli #ethics #orphanwells #fossilfuels #polluterpay
https://www.theenergymix.com/ethics-complaint-targets-oil-advisor-at-heart-of-albertas-cleanup-plan/
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Why we’re barely keeping track of this growing climate problem
“Marginal wells only produce 6-7 percent of [oil and gas] in the US but they disproportionately account for almost 50 percent of the US oil and gas production-related emissions,” Gautam said. “These facilities only produce less than 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day, but then there are more than half a million of these just scattered around the US.”
https://www.vox.com/climate/416470/methane-emissions-climate-natural-gas-pollution-leak-coal
#MarginalWells #OrphanWells -
"Methane emissions from #Canada's non-producing oil and gas wells appear to be seven times higher than government estimates, according to a new [McGill] study. The findings spotlight a major gap in the country's official greenhouse gas inventory and raise urgent questions about how #methane leaks are monitored, reported and managed.
There are more than 425,000 inactive oil and gas wells across Canada, most of which are in Alberta and Saskatchewan."
https://phys.org/news/2025-06-methane-leaks-dormant-oil-gas.html
#OrphanWells -
This sounds like a recipe for #OrphanWells, now offshore.
"As many offshore fields reach the end of their economic life, #decommissioning is set to become an even larger part of the #OilAndGas industry.
In most cases, the operator of the well or platform is responsible for bearing the costs of decommissioning.
One primary issue is the degradation of equipment. Another risk is exposure to hazardous substances left behind in valves, pipes, or tanks."
https://gcaptain.com/offshore-decommissioning-a-growing-industry-with-rising-risks/
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The American Oil Industry’s Playbook, Illustrated: How Drillers Offload Costly Cleanup Onto the Public
"Oil executive Tom Ragsdale walked away from his old wells, making the pollution left behind the state of New Mexico’s problem. His tactics, however, are ubiquitous in the industry.
Should you want to become an oil executive and try this strategy yourself, here’s how it works …"
https://www.propublica.org/article/oil-orphan-wells-cleanup-playbook-siana-tom-ragsdale
#OrphanWells -
"More than 3.5 million abandoned oil and gas wells are littered across the United States [including in cities] and an estimated 14 million Americans live within a mile of one of the wells.
Those that leak are known in West Texas as “zombie wells” and can contaminate groundwater and spew carcinogenic chemicals and potent greenhouse gases."
https://abcnews.go.com/US/abandoned-oil-gas-wells-us-bring-fears-leak/story?id=116764814
#OrphanWells -
Via CA Dept of Conservation: Project Plug addresses the environmental impacts of legacy wells and facilities in our communities. Learn about regional work on Phase One projects...
Details are listed by county
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Number of #OrphanWells in Alberta will soon double as controversial #oilpatch #bankruptcy settled | CBC News https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bakx-owa-seqouia-pwc-alberta-orphan-wells-1.7336635 “Alberta's orphan well woes are about to swell following the end of a controversial court case involving some of the biggest names in the Canadian oilpatch.
The OWA already has an inventory of about 1,600 wells in need of closure and reclamation. That workload is expected to more than double as the bankruptcy of Sequoia Resources is finally settled”
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Will Danielle Smith Use Albertans' Pensions to Bail Out Big Oil? via @thetyee https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2024/09/18/Will-Danielle-Smith-Albertans-Pensions-Big-Oil/
The answer is: it sure does look like it.
#Alberta #O&G #Oil #OilAndGas #environment #OrphanWells #APP #CPP #HandsOffMyCPP -
How America’s “Most Powerful Lobby” Is Stifling Efforts to Reform #OilWell Cleanup in State After State
"Secretive drafting processes and millions of dollars of industry lobbying serve to weaken or kill [cleanup] proposals in state after state.
In some, including OK and UT, lawmakers propose bills only after oil trade groups approve the language. Even when given a seat at the table, like in New Mexico, the industry has turned against reform efforts."
https://www.propublica.org/article/oil-industry-lobbying-unplugged-wells
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"#OrphanWells, defined as unsealed bores whose operators have long since walked away, have proliferated as #californias oil reservoirs have gradually declined since the mid-1980s. The state estimates there are 5,300 such wells across California."
#methane
https://www.bakersfield.com/news/state-focuses-on-possible-methane-leaks-at-local-oil-wells/article_0150e008-b4c2-11ed-a182-b37d7cb28d7c.html -
#CTV: 'What exactly did we get?' #Alberta senator questions hundreds of millions to clean up #OrphanWells
"I asked (the #PBO) whether any of that $556 million had gone to cleaning up actual orphaned wells. And I was informed by the parliamentary budget analyst that not one single orphan well in Alberta -- not one -- had been cleaned up with this grant money," @Paulatics said Monday.