Practices and Standards for Plugging Orphaned and Abandoned Hydrocarbon Wells: Proceedings of a Workshop (2024)

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Practices and Standards for Plugging Orphaned and Abandoned Hydrocarbon Wells Linda Casola, Noel Walters, and Cameron Oskvig, Rapporteurs Board on Earth Sciences and Resources Division on Earth and Life Studies Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences Proceedings of a Workshop PREPUBLICATION COPY 

NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of the Interior. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project. International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-XXXXX-X International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-XXXXX-X Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/28035 This publication is available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu. Copyright 2024 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and National Academies Press and the graphical logos for each are all trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Practices and Standards for Plugging Orphaned and Abandoned Hydrocarbon Wells: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/28035. Prepublication Copy 

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PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR A WORKSHOP ON PRACTICES AND STANDARDS FOR PLUGGING ORPHANED AND ABANDONED HYDROCARBON WELLS MARY HART FEELEY (Chair), ExxonMobil Exploration Company (retired) MARY KANG, McGill University DONALD NATHAN MEEHAN, Texas A&M University MILEVA RADONJIC, Oklahoma State University JAMES ALLEN SLUTZ, National Petroleum Council Staff DEBORAH GLICKSON, Director, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources CAMERON OSKVIG, Director, Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment EVAN ELWELL, Associate Program Officer, Air Force Studies Board MILES LANSING, Senior Program Assistant, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources NOEL WALTERS, Associate Program Officer, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources Prepublication Copy v 

BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES ISABEL P. MONTAÑEZ (Chair), University of California, Davis THORSTEN W. BECKER, University of Texas at Austin MICHELE L. COOKE, University of Massachusetts Amherst MARY H. FEELEY, ExxonMobil Exploration Company (retired) KATHARINE W. HUNTINGTON, University of Washington KRISTEN KURLAND, Carnegie Mellon University MICHAEL MANGA, University of California, Berkeley W. ALLEN MARR, Jr., Geocomp Corporation PATRICIA F. MCDOWELL, University of Oregon JESSICA P. MOORE, West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey ANN S. OJEDA, Auburn University DAVID B. SPEARS, Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (retired) DAVID W. SZYMANSKI, Bentley University JOLANTE W. VAN WIJK, Los Alamos National Laboratory Staff DEBORAH GLICKSON, Director EMILY BERMUDEZ, Senior Program Assistant CHARLES BURGIS, Associate Program Officer MAYA FREY, Senior Program Assistant CYNTHIA GETNER, Senior Financial Business Partner SAMUEL KRAFT, Senior Program Assistant MILES LANSING, Senior Program Assistant SAMMANTHA L. MAGSINO, Senior Program Officer MARGO REGIER, Program Officer BRYAN RUFF, Senior Program Assistant JONATHAN TUCKER, Program Officer NOEL WALTERS, Associate Program Officer vi Prepublication Copy 

BOARD ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE CONSTRUCTED ENVIRONMENT JESUS M. DE LA GARZA (Chair), Clemson University BURCU AKINCI, Carnegie Mellon University STEPHEN AYERS, The Ayers Group, LLC BURCIN BECERIK-GERBER, University of Southern California LEAH BROOKS, George Washington University MIKHAIL V. CHESTER, Arizona State University JAMES “JACK” DEMPSEY, Asset Management Partnership, LLC LEONARDO DUEÑAS-OSORIO, Rice University DEVIN K. HARRIS, University of Virginia DAVID J. HAUN, Haun Consulting, Inc. CHRISTOPHER J. MOSSEY, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory ANDREW PERSILY, National Institute of Standards and Technology ROBERT “BOB” RAINES, Atkins Nuclear Secured JAMES RISPOLI, North Carolina State University DOROTHY ROBYN, Boston University SHOSHANNA D. SAXE, University of Toronto Staff CAMERON OSKVIG, Director JIM MYSKA, Senior Program Officer JOSEPH PALMER, SR., Program Assistant BRITTANY SEGUNDO, Program Officer DONAVAN THOMAS, Finance Business Partner Prepublication Copy vii 



Reviewers This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process. We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings: DWAYNE PURVIS, Purvis Energy Advisors DAVID SPEARS, Virginia’s Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Christine Ehlig-Economides, University of Houston. She is responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academies. We also thank staff member Jeffrey Kast for reading and providing helpful comments on this manuscript. Prepublication Copy ix 



Contents 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 1 Workshop Overview, 1 Sponsor Remarks, 2 Organization of this Proceedings, 4 2 ORPHANED AND ABANDONED WELL-PLUGGING: COSTS, CHALLENGES, AND BENEFITS ................................................................................................... 5 Introduction, 5 Historic and Current Well-Plugging Efforts Across the States, 5 Orphaned Wells: Locations, Attributes, and Costs, 6 Research and Development Program for Undocumented Orphaned Wells, 7 Commentary from State Oil and Gas Leaders, 8 Open Discussion, 10 Compilation of State Standards and Procedures for Plugging and Abandoning Wells, 11 3 EXAMPLES OF WELL-PLUGGING PRIORITIZATION CONSIDERATIONS: EVALUATING WELLBORE INTEGRITY AND SUBSURFACE CONDITIONS ................. 15 Introduction, 15 Examples of Prioritization Considerations for Managing Permanent End-Of-Life Solutions for Marginal, Idled, Orphaned, and Other Wells, 15 Orphaned Well-Plugging Prioritization in Wyoming, 16 Orphaned and Abandoned Well-Plugging in Pennsylvania, 17 Railroad Commission of Texas: Standard Practices for Plugging Orphaned and Abandoned Wells, 18 Evaluating Wellbore Integrity and Subsurface Conditions in Alaska’s Orphaned Wells, 19 Perspectives From the Bureau of Land Management, 20 Open Discussion, 21 4 EXAMPLES OF PROCEDURES AND BEST PRACTICES FOR WELLBORES .................. 23 Introduction, 23 Challenges to Plugging Orphaned Wells, 23 Example Learnings from Gulf of Mexico Plugging and Abandonment Experience, 24 The Process: Evaluation, Planning, and Execution, 25 Open Discussion, 26 5 ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND MONITORING .................................................................... 28 Introduction, 28 The Environmental Protection Agency and the Quantification of Methane from Wells, 29 Potential Methods for Quantifying Methane Emissions from Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells, 31 Methane Emissions and Water Quality Impacts Around Orphaned and Abandoned Hydrocarbon Wells, 32 Leveraging Publicly Available Data to Understand Well-Integrity Risks, 34 Informing Groundwater-Quality Monitoring with Models, 36 Open Discussion, 37 Prepublication Copy xi 

xii Contents 6 REMEDIATION, RECLAMATION, AND RESTORATION .................................................... 39 Introduction, 39 National Park Service Orphaned Wells Projects, 39 Surface Reclamation and Restoration, 40 Colorado’s Orphaned Well Program, 41 A Modern Approach to Reclamation, 43 Open Discussion, 44 7 ADVANCES IN PLUGGING AND ABANDONMENT FOR IDLED WELLS......................... 46 Introduction, 46 Lessons Learned from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists: 2020–Present, 46 New And Upcoming Plugging and Abandonment Technology, 47 Urban Abandonment: Challenges and Solutions, 48 U.S. Geological Survey Science to Support Orphaned Well-Plugging: Historical Drilling, Produced Waters Geochemistry, and Groundwater Quality, 49 Isolating Annuli Using Shale/Salt as a Barrier, 50 Open Discussion, 52 8 EXAMPLES OF KEY WORKSHOP THEMES .......................................................................... 54 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 56 APPENDIX A: WORKSHOP STATEMENT OF TASK ..................................................................... 59 APPENDIX B: WORKSHOP AGENDA ................................................................................................ 60 APPENDIX C: WORKSHOP PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBER BIOGRAPHIES ................ 63 Prepublication Copy