Mexican Communities On Guard Against Thirst for Oil – Inter Press Service
January 1, 2014
Mexican Communities On Guard Against Thirst for Oil – Inter Press Service.
Detailed Scoping Report – Marcellus Shale Public Health Study
December 26, 2013
Detailed Scoping Report – Marcellus Shale Public Health Study.
“…the full study will nail down health baselines in the community so that it can be a measuring stick for health changes should shale gas development occur.”
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.
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Happy New Year
Edward K.
PHMSA: Stakeholder Communications
December 26, 2013
PHMSA: Stakeholder Communications.
Community Toolbox
Pipeline Safety Connects Us All
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) is the federal safety authority for ensuring the safe, reliable, and environmentally sound operations of our nation’s pipeline transportation system. An important component of OPS’s mission is to promote pipeline safety communication and education.
Pipeline safety is a responsibility shared by all stakeholders. Community and pipeline safety is improved through active stakeholder participation, especially with regard to public awareness, damage prevention, risk-informed land use planning, and emergency management efforts.
Orphaned NY Oil and Gas Wells
December 26, 2013
Orphaned NY Oil and Gas Wells.
by Ron Bishop
Jan, 2012
History of Oil and Gas Well Abandonment in New York Ronald E. Bishop, Ph.D., C.H.O.Chemistry & Biochemistry Department SUNY College at OneontaSustainable Otsego, January 8, 2012Summary:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the
success of New York State’s
regulatoryprogram for the oil and gas industry with respect to post‐production plugging andreclamation. Annual reports from the Division of Mineral Resources, New York StateDepartment of Environmental Conservation over the last twenty‐five years portray an oiland gas industry which has consistently neglected to plug most (89%) of its depleted wells.In this regard, the most recent record has been the worst: Plugging percentage ratesranged from 3.5 to 7.1% t
hroughout the 2000’s.
Further, there is no program, existing or proposed, to periodically monitor and repair plugged and abandoned wells which have begun to leak. Therefore, new plugging and reclamation guidelines presented in the revised draft Supplement to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program (rdSGEIS Section 5.17 ) , and proposed new regulations for plugging and abandoning depleted oil and gas wells (
6 NYCRR Section555.5 ) are inadequate. Moreover, they are mere academic exercises: Unless the State of New York State does something to dramatically alter the long‐standing culture of neglect,we can reasonably expect oil and gas industry operators to ignore any new standards just as they systematically ignore existing standards today
Fractracker maps of NY bans and moratoria
December 24, 2013
There have been numerous updates to our hydrofracking bans and moratoria map in the past weeks, including bans in Meredith (Delaware County), Hartwick (Otsego County), Butternuts (Otsego County), Lafayette (Onondaga County) and Moravia (Cayuga County). Here’s the map http://www.fractracker.org/map/ny-moratoria/. For an interactive map with pop-up windows and links to legislation passed by many towns, go here: http://maps.fractracker.org/latest/?appid=68f3de3fc2a1462aaf700fff5ec0ab47
The persistence and endurance of this movement to safeguard environmental and human health in New York State is showing and growing. As always, please let me know if we’ve overlooked any towns that have passed prohibitions, or are actively working on them.
GDACC 
