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Unplugged: Abandoned oil and gas wells leave the ocean floor spewing methane

January 5, 2021

Unplugged: Abandoned oil and gas wells leave the ocean floor spewing methane

The Gulf of Mexico is littered with tens of thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells, and toothless regulation leaves climate warming gas emissions unchecked.

Out on the deck of a research boat, Tara Yacovitch looked out to the water. In the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, the seascape is peppered with lights. And every light is part of an offshore oil or gas platform.

Offshore platforms can vary greatly in size—some are as big as multi-storied buildings, while others resemble small but very tall rooms. The boat carrying Yacovitch and her team also housed a variety of science equipment: methane isotope readers, spectrometers, and other tools to measure methane levels in the air around these sites.

Yacovitch, an instrument scientist at Aerodyne Research, is trying to understand the scope of what some scientists say is a massive environmental issue lurking below our seas. Wells are routinely drilled into the sea floor for oil and gas production, and abandoned when they stop being economically viable—sometimes this is after years of oil or gas extraction, sometimes it’s part way through drilling before the well is even finished. But not all of these wells are plugged and properly maintained before being left behind. The result: methane and other gases leaking in unknown quantities for years on end from tens of thousands of holes in the ocean floor.

The harms for the ocean and its inhabitants, and the atmosphere above, are largely unknown. But we do know that methane is about 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, measured over a 20-year period, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

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U.S. Rig Count Inches Higher As Canadian Rig Count Slips

March 3, 2018

U.S. Rig Count Inches Higher As Canadian Rig Count Slips

Oil rig

Baker Hughes reported another 3-rig increase to the number of oil and gas rigs this week.

The total number of oil and gas rigs now stands at 981, which is an addition of 225 rigs year over year.

The number of oil rigs in the United States increased by a single rig this week, and now stands at 800, or 191 over this time last year. The number of gas rigs, which rose by 2 this week, now stands at 181, or 35 rigs above this week last year.

Canada lost another 4 rigs this week after losing 12 last week. The losses were 6 for gas, while oil gained 2.

At 11:45 am EST, the price of a WTI barrel was trading down $0.22 (-0.36%) to $60.77—dollars below last week’s price. The Brent barrel was also trading down on the day, by $0.02 (-0.03%) to $63.81. That represents a $3 fall for the benchmark in a week. The market bristled in early trading after President Donald Trump on Thursday announced his plan for imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum. Many in the oil industry spoke out against the plan, on the grounds that the tariffs would kill jobs in the energy industry as costs for infrastructure projects would likely skyrocket.

US crude oil production rose in the week ending February 23 to 10.283 million bpd—resuming its steadfast climb of recent weeks after a tiny hiccup last week when it fell from a high of 10.271 million bpd to 10.270 million bpd. This week is the highest production figure for the U.S. ever.

By basin, the Marcellus gained two rigs. The Williston basin lost 2. Cana Woodford, DJ-Niobrara, and the Permian all lost a single rig.

At 1:11pm EST, oil had rallied somewhat, with WTI trading at $61.14 (+$0.15) and Brent tradingat $64.17 (+$0.34).

Drill, Baby, Drill: The U.S. Added 38 Percent More Oil and Gas Rigs Last Year

February 12, 2018

The number of oil and gas rigs in the United States has increased an astonishing 38 percent over the past year. That’s according to S&P Global Platts Analytics, which reported this week that the country had 1,070 rigs at the end of January, up from just 773 a year earlier.

Experts expressed fear that all of this new development does not bode well for the planet. “This will have a very significant climate impact,” says Romany Webb, climate law fellow with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. “The oil and gas industry is a huge source of methane, which is a really potent greenhouse gas. And then on top of that you also have the carbon dioxide emissions from the combustion of this oil and gas. So this is very concerning from a climate perspective.”

Webb links the increase in drilling, in part, to the recent rise in prices for crude oil and natural gas. “Oil is now above $60 a barrel, which is what the industry always said that they needed to ramp up production,” she says.

Experts also connect the boom to the policies of the Trump administration, which has prioritized the extraction of oil, natural gas and coal over the development of renewable energies even as the planet continues to warm. “That the hottest years in human history coincide with a dramatic increase in U.S. drilling for oil and gas is a reminder of what a rogue nation we now live in,” says noted environmentalist Bill McKibben.

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