Oil & Gas News
Oil and gas wells do not last forever. Conventional sources – easily/cheaply accessed pools of “bubbling crude” à la The Beverly Hillbillies – have seemed endless but are in fact emptying. New oil and gas sources have been opened by horizontal fracking but have limited often shorter than expected lifespans. (article)
Studies have shown that wells in the Bakken shale formation are becoming stripper wells (producing 10bbls or less per day) after 6 years on average (source). The wells may produce for decades as stripper wells but it is debatable whether they are cost beneficial. The average productive life of a Barnett Shale well is 7.5 years. “Though production per well isn’t much, nationwide these stripper wells are an important part of our domestic energy supply because there are hundreds of thousands of stripper wells producing oil and gas in the United States.” (article)
In Alberta alone there are more than 450,000 oil and gas wells with at least 155,000 wells that are no longer producing but haven’t been reclaimed and cleaned up. Some people living close to the spent wells say they have experienced severe headaches and chronic health problems. (article)
Abandoned/”Orphan”/Spent Wells
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Date yyyy-mm-dd |
Posted By |
Article Link |
Comment |
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2019-10-18 |
CBC News |
Kyle Bakx |
|
|
2018-07-09 |
Huffington Post |
Why ‘Orphan’ Oil And Gas Wells Are A Growing Problem For States |
Sophie Quinton |
|
2018-06-14 |
HCN.org (USA) |
Jodi Peterson |
|
|
2018-06-10 |
Saskatchewan Herald |
- cleanup cost of inactive wells estimated at $4 billion in Saskatchewan |
|
|
2018-05-23 |
AlbertaPolitics.ca |
Guest Post: Canadians should be on red alert over Redwater Energy case |
Regan Boychuk |
|
2018-04-26 |
Pembina Institute |
Blog: A liability iceberg in Alberta exposed by the Redwater legal case |
Jodi McNeill - tens of thousands of inactive well sites |
|
2018-04-04 |
Thechronicleherald.ca |
Opinion: Public at risk for oil and gas industry’s clean-up costs |
Mark Tipperman, lawyer |
|
2018-03-08 |
Calgary Herald |
Oil firm shutting down, walking away from thousands of untended Alberta wells |
Dan Healing - Sequoia Resources Corp. |
|
2017-09-28 |
C.D.Howe Institute |
All’s Well that Ends Well: Addressing End-of-Life Liabilities for Oil and Gas Wells |
Benjamin Dachis, Blake Shaffer and Vincent Thivierge |
|
2017-09-08 |
National Observer |
Regan Boychuk |
|
|
2016-05-30 |
NPR.org |
Danger Below? New Properties Hide Abandoned Oil And Gas Wells |
Stephanie Joyce |
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2016-05-20 |
Financial Post |
Alberta court rules insolvent oil company’s assets won’t be used to clean up idle wells |
Geoffrey Morgan |
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2016-02-12 |
Calgary Herald |
Landowners fight for enforcement of rules at inactive Alberta well sites |
Colette Derworiz |
|
2015-02-25 |
Wall Street Journal (subscription) |
Dan Frosch, Russell Gold |
|
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2014-02-13 |
Ffwdweekly.com |
Suzy Thompson |
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Disclaimer: This information has been compiled through private amateur research for the purpose of allowing the reader to make an informed and educated decision. However, while the information is believed to be reliable, accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
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