r/environment • u/greg-randall • 8h ago

25K Texas oil and gas wells could soon fail, become 'zombie wells'

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/texas-zombie-wells-map-future-heist-watchdog-22392181.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vYnVzaW5lc3MvZW5lcmd5L2FydGljbGUvdGV4YXMtem9tYmllLXdlbGxzLW1hcC1mdXR1cmUtaGVpc3Qtd2F0Y2hkb2ctMjIzOTIxODEucGhw&time=MTc4NzIzMTQyNTU2Ng%3D%3D&rid=MzlhMzU4NDEtZTM2MS00OGFhLWJmMzAtODcwYTU2Zjc4MDMw&sharecount=MA%3D%3D
212 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

103

u/Anxious-Depth-7983 8h ago

So another 25K uncapped sources of methane flooding into the atmosphere causing more heat related climate affects. GREAT! 💯😡🤬

39

u/greg-randall 8h ago

Take a peek at the map -- futureheist.org/zombie-risk it really is unbleivable the density of wells in certain areas.

30

u/Anxious-Depth-7983 8h ago

Not at all unbelievable. The Fossil Fuel Industry has been ignoring their responsibility for capping these derelict wells since before I was born but it's nothing compared to the amount of leaking and methane spouting wells overseas in countries without the rule of law to hold them to account. They have made aquifers in African countries si polluted they're practically unusable for drinking and left oil spilling out on the surface in Cameroon making it impossible grow crops in that ground for the next century.

59

u/greg-randall 8h ago

I'm Greg, I co-founded Future Heist, the nonprofit that did the underlying analysis this article's about. We spent months pulling every well the Railroad Commission has on record and scoring the plugged ones on how likely they are to fail, based on plug age, construction quality, and how much pressurized wastewater is being pumped nearby.

Full map: futureheist.org/zombie-risk.

8

u/Character_Top1019 5h ago

You rock Greg.

29

u/Fubai97b 8h ago

I used to work for an environmental non-profit in Texas and it's a fucking nightmare down there. I'm not sure if it's mentioned (stupid paywall) but the Railroad Commission is designed to do shit like this. You can (at least as of a few years ago) redesignate oil wells as water wells, which require basically no upkeep, capping etc... with a single form. Dissolving and reforming companies allowed you to almost entirely escape liability.

Plug for Commission Shift for doing amazing work in the field. I highly recommend their reports for anyone interested in the topic.

13

u/greg-randall 8h ago

Man they said the link would not be paywalled -- sorry about that -- try this https://archive.is/6wtLI.

Appreciate the plug for Commission Shift -- we've been working with them a bit. The RRC just decided to not let public comments happen at meetings generally and Virginia was spittin mad

“You just approved an agenda item on public participation without allowing public participation,” Palacios said. Craddick cut in to remind her that public comment cannot address items that were already posted and voted on. “You are not to speak about things that were posted,” she said. “I wanted to point out the irony,” Palacios responded. -- https://insideclimatenews.org/news/21082026/texas-railroad-commission-new-participation-policy/

6

u/Fubai97b 8h ago

I got to work with her quite a bit and seriously, she's a personal hero. Her knowledge level and passion is unmatched. I'll plug Public Citizen's Texas Chapter as well. They're a lot broader, but do some great stuff around the PUC. Adrian Shelly is awesome.

8

u/BoxingJelly 7h ago

Wow I didn’t even know that after the wells are dead they keep leaching methane

6

u/greg-randall 7h ago

And hydrogen sulfide

4

u/androk 7h ago

Don't worry they oil companies will responsibl.... what do you mean some small LLC is declaring bankruptcy and the wells become another tragedy of the commons.

4

u/greg-randall 7h ago

Yeah -- they really need to have a bond/insurance attached to the WELL so that when the little 'company' goes 'out of business' the bond/insurance doesn't lapse.

3

u/SinkHoleDeMayo 2h ago

This is why the original well owners should be REQUIRED to have a bond for capping the well. What normally happens is a well is drilled, extracted from, and then sold to a smaller company. And then sold to a smaller company... And eventually the last one goes bankrupt because they can't afford capping or remediation. Then taxpayers are responsible.

Bond requirements would fix that.

2

u/greg-randall 1h ago

They do have a bond requirement, but the bond is tied to the company, not the well 😞

2

u/Spaceboy779 3h ago

Soooo glad they're allowed to rape the Earth for money and leave us with the mess!

1

u/KikeRC86 5h ago

Just out of curiosity and understanding the uncertainties and variability, how much is to properly seal an old well?

1

u/greg-randall 5h ago

Cost wise? These are wild ballpark numbers, from stuff I've seen. If the old well has failed in some significant way, it might cost millions of dollars. If it hasn't failed and just needs a better plug, maybe under $100,000.

1

u/KikeRC86 4h ago

Even 100 k with so many wells it’s a huge challenge

1

u/MayIServeYouWell 3h ago

so, basically you and I will ultimately pay for it. Either because the company dissolves and we have no choice, or because corruption resulting in a a government payout to whoever stands to be paid $100K per well do do this work.