AAPG Orphan, Idle, and Leaking Wells: Best Practices, Data Access, Funding Sources, and Business Opportunities

Learn about the new opportunities and best practices for abandoned and orphan wells. There are new business opportunities, but to fully explore them, you need access to new databases, funding sources and tax incentives as well as best practices for finding and cleaning up orphaned and abandoned wells, for individual wells and the entire field.

This workshop will bring together industry practitioners, government and state agencies, nonprofit and academic institutions in a first of its kind event that will spark new ideas, motivate interdisciplinary and multi institutional collaboration and support the establishment of best practices for cleaning up and repurposing wells across the nation.

Outcomes

• identify the types of completions used in old wells
• share case studies, experiences, and lessons learned
• use drones, satellites and other technologies identify orphan wells
• combine historical, geological and current information to characterize orphan wells
• use new data sources and registries for decision-making
• implement best practices for cementing and maintaining well integrity
• incorporate geological information with orphan wells to improve field development plans and

Strategies

• explain how orphan wells and abandoned wells play a role in optimizing recovery from the entire field
• determine suitability for geothermal, critical minerals mining, energy storage, and more
• evaluate new business opportunities such as carbon credits, blockchain smart contracts, and more
• meet and network with key people

Workshop Topics

This workshop will address where we are today with orphan and abandoned wells, and where the best new business opportunities are.

We will cover how to be successful with orphan, abandoned, and idle wells, including historical drilling & completion methods; evolution of applicable regulations & plugging practices and technologies; assessing risks associated with plugging operations; locating both documented and undocumented wells; measurement and ultimate elimination considerations of emissions; best practices for plugging to promote long-term elimination of emissions & environmental concerns to soil & groundwater; incentivizing plugging; methods for evaluating not only individual wells, but larger areas where many wells have been drilled; historic preservation responsibilities.

By taking a field-level view, the examination of orphan wells may also lead to better ultimate recovery of the field. In addition, we will examine how wells have been repurposed for new purposes, such as geothermal, critical mineral mining, brackish water desalination, and more. Finally, we will address the workforce needed to achieve these in the near future.

Background and Contexts

State Idle and Orphan Well Plugging programs have been active for decades across the US, and responsible operators plug and clean up most wells in compliance with state requirements. States plug and clean up orphan wells, typically using revenues collected from financial assurance instruments or through assessments on the industry. Organizations such as the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB) assist in restoring old oil and gas producing sites. Further, due to recent activities, many wells must be re-plugged to facilitate unconventional development and the permitting of Class II Disposal Wells. More recently, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Department of the Interior received 4.7 billion dollars to fund the plugging and cleanup of orphan wells by Federal land management agencies, States, and Tribes. The IIJA directs 4.2 billion of this funding to State programs to address wells on State and private lands. In addition, projects like the DOE’s Undocumented Orphaned Well Program are funding research to help Federal land management agencies, States, and Tribes identify, catalogue, and classify undocumented orphaned wells.