Standards Are the First to Specifically Address Plugging Orphan Oil and Gas Wells – a Substantial Source of Methane Emissions
Key Leaders From Rebellion Energy Contributed Technical Expertise to ACR in Its Development of the Framework
ACR Methodology Underpins the Value of Carbon-Offset Credits, a Vital Tool to Incentivize and Accelerate Incremental Activity to Permanently Halt Methane Emissions From Orphan Wells
Scale of Opportunity to Curb This Source of Methane Emissions Is Vast – Extending Far Beyond the Capacity of Designated Federal Funding to Address
Rebellion Energy Solutions commented on the significance of the American Carbon Registry's (ACR) newly published methodology for quantifying and validating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions from plugging orphan oil and gas wells.
"This framework serves as an economic catalyst for accelerating and scaling up activity to plug orphan oil and gas wells – immediately and permanently halting decades of future methane emissions," says Staci Taruscio, Rebellion Energy Solutions chief executive officer. "The capital to fund plugging these wells relies on emissions-offset credits that meet the highest standards of carbon accounting. The American Carbon Registry methodology – the first to specifically address orphan oil and gas wells – is designed to meet that need."
The American Carbon Registry on May 24th published its methodology for quantifying, monitoring, reporting and verification of GHG emissions reductions from plugging orphan oil and gas wells. The methodology provides science-based mitigation strategies necessary to drastically cut emissions from orphan wells using carbon credits as one source of funding, ACR reports.
The atmospheric concentration of methane – which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change notes is about 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide on a 20-year time scale – has more than doubled in the last two centuries, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says.
"It is imperative to take immediate action to see benefits of mitigating this short-lived climate pollutant to slow down the rate of warming in the near term," ACR reports. "This methodology is intended to be used as an incentive to drastically cut emissions by creating carbon credits as a source of funding for the plugging of leaking – sometimes for decades – orphan oil and gas wells, and to help operators and jurisdictions prioritize leaking methane as an environmental risk."
The scale of the methane-leaking, orphan-well problem is enormous – with the U.S. EPA conservatively estimating the volume at 6.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMT CO2e) escaping each year from millions of defunct oil and gas wells that need to be plugged.
"We have seen first-hand America's outdated orphan-well system and understand that regulators alone are critically under-resourced to identify or quell the environmental hazards of methane leaks from millions of abandoned wells that have essentially become wards of the state – in the absence of any responsible entity," says Taruscio, of the Oklahoma-based company.
"Getting to zero emissions on these wells requires a fully engaged marketplace, not just governments," she says. "It also requires carbon credits that meet the highest standards of credibility and veracity. ACR's framework represents a giant step forward in efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions."
Carbon credits can help get wells plugged and permanently halt decades of methane emissions. The credits provide an incentive to target the worst offenders – the highest-volume methane wells. The greater the volume of methane that plugging can halt, the greater number of carbon credits are available for verification and monetization.
Key leaders from Rebellion Energy, Taruscio and project-executive Brooke Swain – each with prior experience in the exploration-and-production sector of the oil-and-gas industry – contributed technical expertise to ACR in its development of the orphan oil-and-gas well framework. ACR's methodology process also included a public-comment period and final scientific peer review.
Rebellion Energy's mission is focused on bringing energy, environment and markets together to drive responsible completion – confirmed zero methane emissions and restored, sustainable landscape – of the oil-and-gas well lifecycle.
In its role, Rebellion Energy:
Identifies high-environmental-impact orphan wells that, without plugging, are expected to produce specific, quantifiable decades-long methane emissions;
Collaborates with landowners whose property is compromised by these wells;
Takes multiple methane measurements from the wells to establish accurate baselines;
Acquires ownership of and rights to access those wells, assuming the role of responsible party;
Completes the wells' lifecycle by permanently plugging it and restoring a sustainable landscape;
Takes final measurements to confirm zero methane emissions;
Engages a third-party to validate the results;
Obtains carbon-offset credits issued in a quantity that reflects the quantified avoided methane emissions; and
Monetizes the carbon-offset credits in direct or exchange transactions – providing the capital necessary to fund plugging the orphan wells.
