Financial liabilities and environmental implications of unplugged wells for the Gulf of Mexico and coastal waters

[Frank Robert]

A recent study published in Nature Energy has revealed that the U.S. Oil Patch is home to tens of thousands of inactive offshore oil and gas wells that remain unplugged, posing the risk of possible leaks into the ocean. ​

14,000 Inactive Oil & Gas Wells In U.S. Unplugged​

Plugging and abandoning (P&Aing) wells is a policy priority because unplugged wells present potential financial and environmental risks to the public. Offshore wells, compared with land wells, generally produce more, cost more to P&A and present different environmental risks. Here we estimate that the cost to P&A all 14,000 unplugged, non-producing wells in US Gulf of Mexico offshore waters, inland waters and wetlands is US$30 billion. Wells in shallower waters closer to shore make up 90% of inactive wells but only 25% of total P&A costs. They also present larger environmental risks. Prior owners of wells in federal waters (deeper and farther from shore) can be held liable for P&A costs if the current owner does not P&A them. We find that 88% of outstanding P&A liability in federal waters is associated with wells currently or formerly owned by one of the large, financially stable ‘supermajor’ companies.​

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Leaky oil and gas infrastructure has been playing an outsized role in climate change by spewing out far more quantities of an even more potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere than earlier thought.​

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When oil and gas companies fail to cap oil and gas wells, it can create significant environmental and financial risks for the public. These risks can include oil and gas leaks, which can harm marine life and pollute waterways, as well as methane emissions, which contribute to climate change. If a company goes bankrupt or is unable to pay for the cleanup costs, taxpayers may end up bearing the burden of these costs. Additionally, taxpayers may end up paying for the costs of responding to any environmental disasters that result from these wells not being properly capped. In short, the failure of oil and gas companies to cap wells can create significant risks for taxpayers, both financially and environmentally.​

 

[AV1611VET]

In short, the failure of oil and gas companies to cap wells can create significant risks for taxpayers, both financially and environmentally.

Methinks science is forgetting what happened in the recent past.

Did they forget what happened twelve years ago?

And guess what?

We're still here!

 

[Frank Robert]

Methinks science is forgetting what happened in the recent past.

Did they forget what happened twelve years ago?

And guess what?

We're still here!

Planet earth is incredibly resilient and can heal itself over time. The problem is that its self-healing systems are very, very slow. So the Earth will be fine, but humans’ problems are more immediate. Earth may have another 5 or 6 billion years before being absorbed by the Sun.

 

[AV1611VET]

Planet earth is incredibly resilient and can heal itself over time. The problem is that its self-healing systems are very, very slow. So the Earth will be fine, but humans’ problems are more immediate. Earth may have another 5 or 6 billion years before being absorbed by the Sun.

I'm talking about the people on it though.

How many times have people used scientific paradigms to scare us out of our wits in the past two hundred years?

 

[Frank Robert]

I'm talking about the people on it though.

How many times have people used scientific paradigms to scare us out of our wits in the past two hundred years?

I agree that scare tactics are not new. What do you find disagreeable about the fossil industry cleaning up the mess they have been making by not capping the wells depleted wells and instead are forcing the costs onto the public which btw includes you and me.

 

[AV1611VET]

I agree that scare tactics are not new. What do you find disagreeable about the fossil industry cleaning up the mess they have been making by not capping the wells depleted wells and instead are forcing the costs onto the public which btw includes you and me.

I find that disgusting.

Corporate litter should be against the law, and those who want to build oil wells and whatnot should have something in their agreements to make them clean up their messes before they turn out the lights and call it quits.

God didn't enlighten us as to where He put His oil here so we could pump it into our lakes and oceans.

 

[AV1611VET]