The House of Representatives passed the Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act (AWRRDA) 333 to 75 on April 30. The bipartisan bill is now moving to the Senate, where it is expected to receive bipartisan support.
Abandoned oil and gas wells pose possible environmental risks, as they have the potential to contaminate water supplies, degrade ecosystems and emit methane and other air pollutants. According to the bill, there are currently hundreds of thousands of orphaned wells across the United States, at least 400,000 in Canada, and tens of millions across the globe. When the former owners of these wells cannot be traced, the responsibility for plugging these wells typically falls on the government.
In a recent news release from the Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Defense Fund Director and senior attorney for energy transition Adam Peltz stated: “Orphaned oil and gas wells threaten public health and safety, the water drink and the climate.” Additionally, Peltz expanded on this bill’s significant impact on the environment and local communities.
With this bill investing over 150 million USD over the next 5 years, it has given the ability to help find and plug an estimated 800,000 wells. This has the potential to significantly limit methane emissions that are being released into the atmosphere.
Technologies such as VentMEDIC’s allow buyers to efficiently and accurately track methane emissions from these wells, which is a critical step in the process of mitigating these emissions. With precision data tracking, autonomous well control and remote diagnostics, VentMEDIC provides the means to collect emission data in real-time, which satisfies the need for a cost-efficient and effective way to manage emissions.
