14,000 Inactive Oil and Gas Wells Are Unplugged in the Gulf of Mexico
Capping these potential sources of methane could cost $30 billion. But targeting wells in shallow waters would have the highest impact, a new study finds
Will Sullivan
May 15, 2023
When oil and gas wells are no longer in use, operators are required to seal them up to prevent leaks. Still, some 14,000 inactive wells in United States waters in the Gulf of Mexico remain unplugged, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature Energy.
Capping all of these wells, which usually involves sealing them with cement, could cost $30 billion, the authors estimate. In the meantime, these sites could damage the environment.
Unplugged, inactive wells can release methane, oil or other pollutants—“things that in large quantities are not good for ecosystems or human health,” Mark Agerton, a co-author of the study and an energy economist at the University of California, Davis, tells Bloomberg’s Kendra Pierre-Louis. “We don’t want those things in our drinking water or on the ground next to us or in our food.”
The researchers examined data on 82,000 wells in the Gulf of Mexico from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement as well as state agency databases. They found many more inactive wells than active wells, located in offshore waters, inland waters and wetlands.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/14000-inactive-oil-and-gas-wells-are-unplugged-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-180982150/
