The Issue
Millions of abandoned wells are polluting our environment
3.4 Million
Abandoned Wells
The Environmental Protection Agency stated in an April 2021 report that there could be as many as 3.4 million abandoned wells nationally.
“In January, the Department of the Interior stated what many have suspected: there are far more orphaned oil and gas wells in the U.S. than previously estimated.”
Photo Credit: Wolfgang Kaehler / LightRocket via Getty Images
350,000+ Californians live within 600ft of an unplugged well
Thousands of wells across the state, including near residential areas, have been left inactive for years and are in need of cleanup.
In 2014, flames shot out of wall sockets in Elvia Garcia’s home. Her pregnant daughter suffered from sudden blackouts. Government inspectors drilled test holes in lawns and found explosive levels of gas leaking from a pipe servicing wells at the end of the block. They gave residents one hour to evacuate. It was nine months before Garcia’s family was allowed to return. “We smelled strong odors of something decaying, and that smell was coming from the outlets,” she said in Spanish. “We thought there was something in between the walls that had died.”
Photo Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times
350,000+ Californians live within 600ft of an unplugged well
Thousands of wells across the state, including near residential areas, have been left inactive for years and are in need of cleanup.
In 2014, flames shot out of wall sockets in Elvia Garcia’s home. Her pregnant daughter suffered from sudden blackouts. Government inspectors drilled test holes in lawns and found explosive levels of gas leaking from a pipe servicing wells at the end of the block. They gave residents one hour to evacuate. It was nine months before Garcia’s family was allowed to return. “We smelled strong odors of something decaying, and that smell was coming from the outlets,” she said in Spanish. “We thought there was something in between the walls that had died.”
Photo Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times
National News
Millions of abandoned oil wells are leaking methane, a climate menace.
“The U.S. figures are sobering: More than 3.2 million abandoned oil and gas wells together emitted 281 kilotons of methane in 2018, according to the data, which was included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent report on April 14, 2020 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. That’s the climate-damage equivalent of consuming about 16 million barrels of crude oil, according to an EPA calculation, or about as much as the United States, the world’s biggest oil consumer, uses in a typical day.”
State News
More than 350,000 Californians live within 600 feet of unplugged wells.
In 2014, flames shot out of wall sockets in Elvia Garcia’s home. Her pregnant daughter suffered from sudden blackouts. Government inspectors drilled test holes in lawns and found explosive levels of gas leaking from a pipe servicing wells at the end of the block. They gave residents one hour to evacuate. It was nine months before Garcia’s family was allowed to return. “We smelled strong odors of something decaying, and that smell was coming from the outlets,” she said in Spanish. “We thought there was something in between the walls that had died.”
Nearly 200,000 abandoned oil and gas wells are in Pennsylvania
We only know where a slim fraction – probably 4% – of these wells are.
Abandoned wells provide pathways for methane gas to seep to the surface, where it can, under the right settings, trigger explosions. Active drilling near unplugged abandoned wells is dangerous, too. In June 2012, the intersection between a Shell fracking operation and a forgotten well drilled in 1932 likely led to a 30-foot geyser of methane and gas.
Photo Credit: Susan Phillips / StateImpact Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Alone Has Around 200,000 Oil and Gas Wells
There are probably around 200,000 abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania. We know where just a slim fraction – probably four percent – of these wells are.
Abandoned wells provide pathways for methane gas to seep to the surface, where it can, under the right settings, trigger explosions. Active drilling near unplugged abandoned wells is dangerous, too. In June 2012, the intersection between a Shell fracking operation and a forgotten well drilled in 1932 likely led to a 30-foot geyser of methane and gas.
Photo Credit: Susan Phillips / StateImpact Pennsylvania