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from the bigger-problem-than-cow-farts dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
The development of oil and gas has a 150-year history in the US, with wells stretching across the nation from California to Texas to Pennsylvania. We continue to reap the benefits of the infrastructure we built in earlier eras. But the downside to this long history comes in the form of millions of abandoned, poorly documented wells scattered throughout the country.
Recently, a team of researchers examined some of the abandoned wells in Pennsylvania to build a better picture of how this history continues to impact us today. Measurements of methane emissions revealed that abandoned wells may still be a significant source of methane to the atmosphere.
Methane is one of the more common greenhouse gases, and its warming potential is 86 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. So limiting methane emission is an important strategy to curb global warming. Unfortunately, little is known about the ways old wells contribute to methane emissions because they are outside of our greenhouse gas emission inventory system.
Despite the long presence of these wells in the US, there isn't much data about what happens to them after they're abandoned. Many attributes can influence leakage, including depth, plugging status, well type (oil or gas), geographic location, and abandonment method.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 26 2016, @01:39AM
A wild ass guess at triage suggests that some of the really gas old wells in PA and southern tier NY (and all over, really) are not leaking in significant amounts. Others have leaky valves and are leaking a little bit (I personally saw one of these about 1980 way out in farm country) and could be fixed with minimal effort. Others are worse and our resident alarmist Francis may be correct that these aren't worth fixing just yet.
But a measured approach is probably too subtle for anyone in a position to make a recommendation or ruling on this problem...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Francis on Saturday November 26 2016, @01:45AM
Obviously, if there are ones that can be fixed for a reasonable amount, then they should be fixed, the bigger take home here is that this needs to be taken into account when commissioning and decommissioning wells and the oil companies digging them ought to be billed appropriately to take that into consideration.
I'd be skeptical that most of them can be fixed for reasons I've already outlined. But, if it's just a matter of repairing the sealing job, then definitely do that.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 26 2016, @03:48AM
Others are worse and our resident alarmist Francis may be correct
Wow! Wrong on so many levels! Multiple levels! OK, others maybe worse, maybe, Francis and you both do not know. But Francis our resident alarmist? He is only alarmed about paternity tests! He knows nothing, so he may be alarmed at that, but it does not affect anyone else. And finally: Francis may be correct? Do you realize what you are saying? Francis, who always posts based on what he does not know, if correct? Well, it could happen, I suppose. Random chance, broken clock, Francis. But could it be that you are saying that Francis actually knows methane? That would explain sooooo much. Seriously. Sooooo much.