11 months ago
78 Environment
Thousands of offshore wells person been near uncapped successful the Gulf of Mexico, which means lipid oregon methane could leak retired and harm marine ecosystems
An offshore lipid rig successful the Gulf of Mexico
Shutterstock / nektofadeev
More than 14,000 inactive lipid and state wells stay uncapped successful the Gulf of Mexico. Leaks from the wells could harm marine ecosystems and adhd to planet-warming methane emissions, but plugging them would outgo billions.
Mark Agerton astatine the University of California, Davis, and his colleagues collected information from the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement connected the 82,000 wells drilled successful the Gulf of Mexico. While astir of the wells person been plugged and abandoned, they recovered that much than 14,000 are unplugged, contempt having been inactive for astatine slightest 5 years, a constituent beyond which they are improbable to restart production.
Operators are legally required to plug wells erstwhile they are taken retired of production, which usually involves a cement headdress covered with sediment. A small implicit 5000 wells stay active.
Oil leaking retired of the wells, particularly those nearest shore, could harm marine ecosystems. Wells adjacent enactment whitethorn besides leak methane that tin spell connected to scope the atmosphere. The researchers recovered methane leaking from wells successful deeper h2o further offshore would mostly beryllium consumed by marine microbes.
The Deepwater Horizon lipid spill successful 2010, which resulted from a surge of earthy state blowing done a temporarily capped well, illustrates a worst-case scenario. Unlike that well, however, galore of the unplugged wells are tapped out, and it is unclear what impacts galore tiny chronic leaks could have. “We’re not reasoning arsenic overmuch astir catastrophic blowouts,” says Agerton.
An infrastructure measure passed by the US Congress successful precocious 2021 dedicated $4.7 cardinal to plugging orphaned onshore and offshore wells, but David Pettit astatine the National Resources Defense Council says “there’s nary chance” that each good volition beryllium plugged. “There’s not capable administrative involvement oregon money,” helium says.
The researchers estimated that plugging each the inactive wells would outgo much than $30 billion; plugging lone wells successful shallow waters would outgo astir $7 billion. For wells successful national waters, the lipid companies that dug them are liable for plugging them – and they stay connected the hook adjacent if a good they drilled is sold to a smaller relation who can’t wage to plug. In authorities waters, the outgo of plugging specified “orphaned” wells could autumn to the state.
The researchers accidental US agencies should absorption efforts connected the shallow-water wells that airs the top biology menace and are the cheapest to plug.
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