McKibben ‘A World at War’ op-ed in the New Republic Post Carbon Institute
September 1, 2016
Source: McKibben ‘A World at War’ op-ed in the New Republic Post Carbon Institute
Reclaiming Abandoned Wells-bibliography
December 26, 2013
Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2013 2:16 PM
Subject: Costs to reclaim the land after abandonment
Subject: Costs to reclaim the land after abandonment
So how much does it cost to plug an abandoned oil or gas well and to reclaim the land? Of course, there is no quick and easy answer because there is plugging and there is plugging and what does one mean by reclaiming. This issue of bubbles takes a quick, elementary look at this issue.
First plugging: In the recent past, plugging might have been satisfied by dropping a treated wooden cylinder into the top of the well. As used telephone poles met the treating and dimensional requirements, they were used according to some sources. As to reclaiming, that could simply mean removing equipment, but might also include removal of pads, pipes, mud and water pits, roads, structures, and tanks as well as replanting of a re-graded surface; a wide range indeed.
What is out there on the web? The headlines are unsettling:
“Hundreds of abandoned drilling wells dot eastern Wyoming like sagebrush, vestiges of a natural gas boom that has been drying up in recent years as prices have plummeted.”
And this story’s lead is also disturbing:
“The companies that once operated the wells have all but vanished into the prairie, many seeking bankruptcy protection and unable to pay the cost of reclaiming the land they leased. “
To read this full recent New York Times article, see http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/us/state-may-act-to-plug-abandoned-wyoming-wells-as-natural-gas-boom-ends.html?_r=0
So what does it really cost to plug and abandon a well and reclaim the land?
Plugging was covered about four years ago in a Propublica article, to wit: “The task of finding, plugging and monitoring old wells is daunting to cash-strapped state governments. A shallow well in good condition can sometimes be plugged with cement for a few thousand dollars. But costs typically run into the tens of thousands, and a price tag of $100,000 or more isn’t unusual.” See http://www.propublica.org/article/deteriorating-oil-and-gas-wells-threaten-drinking-water-homes-across-the-co
Another estimate, for just the reclaiming costs, based on actual costs from 800 wells in New Mexico, estimate that reclaiming the surface of an abandoned well site costs between $16,500.00 to $50,000.00.
Several other sources have tried to answer these questions.
1. Ohio has a question and answer page on this at http://oilandgas.ohiodnr.gov/orphanwellprogram
2. New York regulations are discussed in a 26 page document at http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/dgeisv1ch11.pdf. The opening states “State law requires operators of most oil, gas and solution mining wells in New York State to maintain financial security with the Department to ensure that the wells are properly plugged and abandoned after their economic life is over. Financial security requirements were substantially increased in 1985 to more closely match the actual costs of plugging operations.”
2.Specific details about plugging etc. including some sketches are offered.
3. Congressman Markey had made some inquiries about some abandoned wells in New Mexico and the following is illuminating: http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/handouts/WNRC%20110711%206%20Response%20to%20Markey%20Letter%20on%20GAO%20Report.doc
4. See also http://wyofile.com/dustin/aftermath-of-a-drilling-boom-wyoming-stuck-with-abandoned-gas-wells/
5. A state by state table on bonding to cover clean up and plugging costs is at http://portal.ncdenr.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=d21aca89-8d97-46bc-aa59-d26667cc98ac&groupId=8198095
6. There are a large number of wells that are abandoned, idle, or ‘orphaned.’ See http://groundwork.iogcc.org/sites/default/files/Orphaned%20Wells%20Case%20Study_0.pdf
7. And also see http://iogcc.publishpath.com/about-us
8. See a case study at http://groundwork.iogcc.org/topics-index/orphaned-wells/the-state-perspective/iogcc-case-study-orphaned-and-abandoned-wells-inno
9. And an older report (fall 2007) by the National Energy Technology Laboratory goes into much detail on tracking and curtailing abandoned well problems from the Versailles Pennsylvania methane field drilled in the early 1900s. See http://www.netl.doe.gov/newsroom/versailles/Versailles%20Methane%20Emissions%20Project%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf
More digging should be undertaken, but the message seems to be: 1) Not all firms will be in a position to properly close down a drilling and production operations; 2) Requiring bonding, while a good idea, too often results in inadequate funds; 3) Taxing the industry to establish a fund to cover the expenses ultimately redounding to the state may well be prudent; and 4) State regulations as to definitions, what constitutes proper plugging and land reclamation need to be in place before drilling is undertaken.
.
Happy New Year
Edward K.
Court: Federal laws supersede local zoning ordinances for proposed gas compressor station in Myersville – The Frederick News-Post : Natural Resource
October 10, 2013
- Oct. 8 — The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland rules that local zoning laws are pre-empted by the federal Natural Gas Act. So, according to the court ruling, those portions of the town code that prevent the siting, construction or operation of the Myersville compressor station are null and void.
FossilFuelSubsidy_201112.pdf
July 18, 2013
Report_FossilFuelSubsidy_201112.pdf.
Pennsylvania Fossil Fuel Subsidies:
An Overview
by
Christina Simeone, Director, PennFuture Energy Center
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Pennsylvania taxpayers may not know they are subsidizing the production and use of fossil fuels. In fact,
Pennsylvania is subsidizing fossil fuels at a cost of almost $2.9 billion per year.1,2 Use of these fuels burdens
taxpayers with additional non-monetized externalities such as air, land and water pollution and the associated
negative human health and property impacts. Since many of these subsidies were passed years or decades ago,
Pennsylvania’s current policymakers may not all be aware that these subsidies exist or understand their cumulative
impacts.
The federal government has long subsidized the production and use of fossil fuels to the tune of billions of
dollars per year, and to the considerable benefit of these extremely profitable and mature industries. Federal level
subsidies reduce the amount of taxable income that fossil fuel companies are required to report to Pennsylvania for
state taxes. Further, Pennsylvania tacks on additional subsidies such as tax breaks and grant programs that benefit
the use or production of fossil fuels. With respect to energy, there is no free and competitive market, least of all in
Pennsylvania.
The state’s fossil fuel subsidies come primarily in the form of tax exemptions, with only a handful of applicable tax
credits and grant programs. There are exemptions for the use of fossil fuels, such as exempting gasoline purchase
from Sales and Use Tax, which make these fuels more attractive by lowering their costs to the consumer. There are
also exemptions that benefit distributors of fossil fuels, such as exempting natural gas sales from the Gross Receipts
Tax, thereby reducing the tax burden on distribution companies, and increasing their profitability. Producers of
fossil fuels also enjoy subsidies, like the Sales and Use Tax exemption for the purchase of mining equipment,
which reduces costs to coal mining companies and increasing profitability. Ironically, Pennsylvania subsidizes the
purchase of pollution control equipment to help users of fossil fuels pay for the cost of cleaning the air and water
fouled by these very fossil fuels.
This preliminary overview of Pennsylvania’s fossil fuel subsidies is intended to promote discussion and perhaps
even a reexamination of Pennsylvania’s overall incentive strategy with respect to energy. This report should be
read as an introduction to the issue of Pennsylvania’s fossil fuel subsidies; additional research and analysis is
required.
GDACC 
