America Is Sitting on a “Downhole” Mine
Over one hundred and fifty years of oil and gas production in the United States, millions of decommissioned wells have accumulated across the country. And what they contain is a real Pandora‘s box of dangerous substances that threaten the well—being of local residents and the environment, writes Oilprice.
Many of these orphan wells do not have an official owner, and therefore their proper liquidation is the responsibility of the United States Government. The Biden administration has already approved the allocation of $4.7 billion for these purposes, however, according to Carbon Tracker, a total of 2.6 million abandoned wells have been registered and, according to the organization, about 1.2 million more unregistered ones. Moreover, only about $280 million will be required for the conservation of registered ones!
Meanwhile, more and more breakthroughs are being recorded at abandoned wells.
So, according to Reuters, over the past 2 years in Texas, more and more wells are starting to burst and even gush, which leads to the formation of lakes of oil, salts and drilling fluids.
The problem has worsened recently. There are two reasons: the first is the Railroad Commission (RRC), which for some reason is the regulatory body overseeing oil and gas operations in Texas, poorly performed its sealing work (in the absence of the owner, it is responsible for the liquidation of the well).
The second is the increase in reservoir pressure due to the shale boom that has engulfed the region. The use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) not only increases the underground pressure, but also fills the layers with hydraulic fracturing solutions, which eventually break out of the ground, forming poisonous lakes.
The RRC says that the problem of abandoned wells is under control. However, the US Environmental Protection Agency believes that the Commission is not coping with its duties and intends to deprive it of its authority to dispose of unattended wells.
