Blog
Stay up-to-date on the latest oil and gas industry news, from new rules and regulations to environmental issues that are driving change.
Offshore Investment: The Case for Responsible Production in the GOM
May 25, 2022
Reliance on overseas energy sources is harmful for the economy, national security, and the climate. Implementing a framework for effectively sealing and monitoring offshore wells will provide quality jobs, protect our waters, and secure a reliable and responsibly produced supply of U.S. energy for years to come....
Tags: Offshore
Surface Casing Vent Flow: Canada’s Crutch
May 10, 2022
Surface casing vent flow (SCVF), the uncontrolled migration of liquid and gas upward through leakage pathways in the annulus, has become a major issue in Canada. While operators are taking action to intervene and prevent the escape of greenhouse gases like methane, the cards are stacked against them....
Tags: P&A | Orphan Wells | Canada
Eliminating Fugitive Emissions: The Key to Clean Energy
Apr 01, 2022
A Stanford University study of comprehensive aerial data – multiple measurements of 90% of wells in the New Mexico section of the Permian Basin – demonstrates the enormity of fugitive methane emissions from oil and gas production. Researchers determined that the methane releases from New Mexico’s Permian Basin are almost 200 metric tons per hour – six times higher than Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates....
Tags: New Mexico
Storing Natural Gas: Ensuring Integrity
Mar 09, 2022
Energy demands naturally fluctuate throughout the year, with colder months typically being the most energy intensive. Natural gas is a key component of the world’s energy mix and is produced year-round to account for peak demand. During the summer, when supply exceeds demand, natural gas is routinely stored in vast underground formations where it can be easily extracted in the winter when demand outpaces production....
Tags: California
Unconventional Wells: Boon or Bane
Feb 24, 2022
Pennsylvania is no stranger to oil and gas – the state has been a center of the industry since Colonel Drake drilled the first US oil well in 1859 in Titusville. The fracking revolution of the late 2000’s brought a second gas boom to PA, providing a new method to release trapped oil and gas deposits within the Marcellus shale formation. The Keystone State has made the most of its abundant natural gas reserves, creating thousands of high-paying jobs and filling global demand for dependable and affordable energy....
Tags: Pennsylvania
Making the Most of Federal Funding: REGROW Act in Action
Feb 21, 2022
With $1.15 billion in federal funding on its way, states are gearing up to make the most of their money and expanding their orphan well programs to properly deal with the scale of this problem. While some states have established orphan well programs that plug hundreds of wells per year, others have been grossly underfunded for decades....
Tags: P&A | Orphan Wells | Pennsylvania
Mitigating Methane: $1.15 Billion to Plug Orphan Wells
Feb 04, 2022
The White House announced it will send $1.15 billion to states to clean up thousands of methane-emitting orphaned oil and gas wells, the first tranche of allotments from the $4.7 billion that congress approved for orphaned well cleanup in the recent infrastructure package....
Tags: P&A | Orphan Wells | New Mexico
Wild West: Orphan Wells and the Health of West Texas Aquifers
Jan 27, 2022
Change is inevitable. In West Texas, a region with a long history of energy production and home to the most productive oil field in the U.S., invisible subsurface changes have led to drastic impacts on the land and water....
Tags: Orphan Wells | Texas
Permian Pollution
Jan 25, 2022
Over 30 oil and gas facilities in the Permian Basin (Texas and New Mexico) – well pads, pipelines, compressor stations and processing facilities – were observed “persistently” emitting large volumes of methane over three years of aerial surveys carried out by the Environmental Defense Fund and Carbon Mapper....
Tags: New Mexico | Texas
Colorado’s Latest & Greatest
Dec 28, 2021
Colorado regulators adopted statewide rules to slash methane emissions and volatile organic compounds (VOC) from oil and gas operations, including an unprecedented program giving the industry choices in curtailing emissions. The “intensity program,” under which operators must reduce emissions based on oil and gas production, was supported by the industry....
Tags: Colorado
Cashing In: States to Receive Influx of Funding for Plugging Wells
Dec 01, 2021
State environmental regulators have spent years trying to find wells and fund plugging of Pennsylvania’s abandoned oil and gas wells. With the passing of the REGROW Act, Pennsylvania will now have a massive budget to work with. The challenge: How to spend it....
Tags: P&A | Pennsylvania
Methane Emissions: No Well Left Behind
Nov 05, 2021
Global leaders at the Glasgow climate summit pledged to sharply curtail methane emissions, with President Biden saying the U.S. would tighten regulations on oil and natural-gas production to reduce leaks of the potent greenhouse gas....
Tags: P&A | Producing | Offshore | Orphan Wells
Seizing an Opportunity to Put Laid-off Oil and Gas Employees Back to Work
Oct 27, 2021
With 3 million abandoned wells across the United States (2 million are still unplugged, according to the EPA), some states are creating programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Capping abandoned wells, which emit millions of metric tons of methane, can cut these emissions by 99%. But federal funding is critical to addressing the issue....
Tags: P&A | Pennsylvania
Orphan Wells: Corporate, State, and Federal Responsibilities
Oct 27, 2021
Orphan oil and gas wells idled by companies that cannot pay to plug them are an issue in many states, thanks to volatile energy prices and bankruptcies caused by recent plummets in demand....
Tags: P&A | Orphan Wells | Pennsylvania
