How Dying Gas Wells Are Making One Company Rich

Bloomberg travels to America's Appalachian mountains to investigate reports that old natural gas wells across the region are leaking greenhouse gases at an alarming rate.
#Climate #Storylines #BloombergQuicktake
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[@business]

Don't miss the first part of this Storylines series about Texas Oil Country's Invisible Secret: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGPVnIGsm9qHosk

[@johnwbusbee]

I just came in here for some of your Hegelian Dialect. I got it.

[@cgroff1628]

All we need to do is hook up nat gas generators to all these wells and mine crypto from them. How has no one done this yet? A generator, a cell phone, and a mining machine...boom literally printing money I had no idea all these wells were out there

[@redcros93]

That's what I was looking for. Thank you.

[@occif2023]

I would make them provide bonding for each well they operate in the state. The state would at least have a fall back if the company did fail.

[@brizzx32]

Obviously a vid to promote Diversified. No real technology here, just a couple of fittings saved the day.

[@maasrur]

CEO named "Rusty". Oh the irony.

[@qqwee9014]

So ironic

[@mugshotmarley]

I dont get it

[@diamanteduul8084]

@@mugshotmarley Because his company buys up all the old and 'rusted' gas wells

[@TheMasterhomaster]

IRONY DOES NOT MEAN COINCIDENCE.

[@play005517]

is it coincident English decide to add a "y" to iron to mean sarcasm?

[@petersilva037]

I would be shocked, truly shocked... if I found out that oil and gas companies provided seed money for diversified, and then sold their "assets" to Diversified.... I can't think of a more profitable and efficient way to get these liabilities off their books.

[@cbx500cbx]

Done all the time !!! Super fund sites. Comp with money sell huge liabilities to she'll companies with nothing except huge liabilities.

[@Bcafric]

Looool

[@golfscienceguru]

I was thinking the same thing. It is obvious.

[@YoshiiWiki]

This needs to be legislated!

[@aurtisanminer2827]

My thought exactly. When the business goes under it becomes the government’s problem.

[@davidwell686]

I grew up in Ohio and we often found gas leaking from the ground on it's own when hiking through the areas of Ohio. My friends father was a Chemical engineer and said under Ohio and other states there were huge amounts of gas and just leaks out on it's own.

[@larrymixon6774]

Same with oil in the western Gulf of Mexico.

[@belliott4213]

So the leaking before the well, was not accretive to global warming? Or has this leaking been here since the vexing of earth? How do you measure the pre-well escapes and measure the release and how it’s affected “global warming”? What about the huge explosions from volcanoes that have affected the humanity? How do you measure the release and the impact on “GW”?

[@pauljohnson2372]

@B Elliott global warming, lol 😆

[@weslitton2567]

@@belliott4213 don't ask questions just blindly accept what our overlords tell us

[@bikeradam]

I also grew up in Ohio. I remember me and my buddies were camping by a small river, we were building a fire, when we went to light it, it "exploded" like we had put gasoline on it. We soon found out that we could go around and light all the depressions in the sand bars. It was a lot of fun. Some flashed up ten feet or so. You could relight them after a few hours. There was no oil wells around the immediate area. This was in Howard.

[@pattayaguideorg]

The jungle growing around all these wells tells you what? plants love carbon? lol

[@spider0804]

Almost all of these leaks can be fixed by taking a few hours to disassemble the piping and re doping the joints. It is not hard or costly. They could have a few people just do this every day for a year or two to fix all the wells. I have dealt with gas piping as a maintenance tech. They would probably even make money by increasing the yield of the wells too.

[@MalawisLilleKanal]

I have no experience in the field of oil and gas, but the price to dump some cement in a hole that no longer has any substantial pressure seems astronomical.

[@MrToradragon]

Or maybe just put some epoxy there? Maybe if Air would get to into pipes with so little pressure there would be some problems with reconnecting to main pipe.

[@MrToradragon]

@@MalawisLilleKanal I have seen some oil well plugging here in Czech republic, they had to bring rig and basically drill that well again and then pour some cement in that. It took about a month to do just one.

[@willkrummeck]

@@MrToradragon yeah because the well starts to collapse, did you ever build a hole on the beach near the water level and the walls keep falling in. the cement will get stuck near the top and just spread the gas over a wider area and create pockets. You need to find the depth of the well reservoir rock and seal at that level.

[@suzannehartmann946]

NICE but I want the states to SEIZE them first not let the oil companies get away with this. Let the states use them to offset taxes by making them into state utilities.

[@inmyopinion6662]

I heard about a family that had a low producing well on their property. They used that well to heat their home, hotwater and used it for their cooking stove. I thought how lucky is that? Yearly they saved a ton of money on the cost of maintaining their home. Especially with the cost of oil and gas today.

[@billwilson3609]

They probably paid the well operator to run the plumbing with a tank adding the odor detection chemical so they would be compliant with state laws.

[@chazman4461]

It is done in a lot of places.

[@cosmicallyderived]

I was just wondering about that, if it would be more profitable for really local folks to just harvest it for themselves. 2 he hike to these spots doesn’t sound very economical at all.

[@farmerkevin]

@@billwilson3609 well gas already has a strong smell, pure methane has no smell.

[@kennethhudson8013]

The eviromenalist can't stand to hear that! They might get jealous!

[@223mt]

She says there is an explosion hazard as she stands there in a T-shirt. You are not allowed on any well site without long sleeve flame resistant clothing. We have to wear it all day every day even when it’s 100 out

[@wisenber]

I bought the rights to the well on my property. It's not commercially viable, but it does have enough to supply all of my current consumption for about another 150 years. It didn't need to be plugged. It needed some of the joins resealed. Any area with gas will have trace methane releases, with or without a well. The "90 dollars" is if the technician is onsite. If the repair tech has to hike a five hour round trip into the woods to get to it, it's not "90 dollars". Compelling a gas company to plug producing wells would be a great way to drive up gas prices and reduce supply though. The gas being produced at the wells also generates revenue to pay for roads and schools in the states, so plugging them would plug that too.

[@joyaustin6581]

Never thought about doing that

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

Renewables are the future

[@wisenber]

@@NicholasLittlejohn Currently the push for renewables is bankrupting everyone, reducing standards of living and challenging our food supply. If that's the future , it looks bleak.

[@preformancemustang]

As a engineer you don’t have to plug wells to stop leaks. You just need to rebuild the well systems (pipeline) and use stainless steel that will last for years and never Break down over time like iron pipes do. It’s not hard to shut a well off and rebuild it. Can be done it a matter of days on larger well. Hours on smaller wells.

[@gmcinnis6304]

looks like some just needed the fitting tightened/valve replaced/stem packing tightened/rebuilt... replaced. that is a 30 min job. GOT TO GREASE ALL THE FITTINGS AND USE TEFLON TAPE OR THREAD DOPE AND GET THE FITTINGS TIGHT!!!! the wont leak if gget them TIGHT and have lots of thread dope on them. the hammer unions need grease on the threads and the wing half so it is easer to tighten WELL and get loose easily when it is time to break it loose. no grease on the hammer unions... they rust and seize and cant get them apart without beating the hammer unions wingsoff... over 5 cents of grease by the roustabouts who put it together.

[@zankarbolde]

If you guys know it,why these guys aren't taking abt this solution? This can be the best immediate action we can take🤔

[@preformancemustang]

@@zankarbolde I’ll tell you why they don’t fix them. They don’t want to fix them. That cost money. There only interested in making money. Not loosing money.

[@zankarbolde]

Yeah afterwards these companies are gonna sell us the oxygen too i guess 😶

[@ghostdevill]

Stainless steel can corrode to if the ground has iron in it!

[@francescopaci9435]

I think that Diversify is a shell company to which other companies sell exhausted gas pumps in order not to pay for their closure.

[@amanawolf9166]

Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

[@superchuck3259]

Closing those small wells, shocking it costs 10,000 bucks. I would just think they need to pour down some gravel, then sand then some epoxy, then some expanding concrete. Should be 500 bucks a well.

[@laius6047]

@@superchuck3259 start a business and do this :)

[@jtjones4081]

@@superchuck3259 Did you see the location?? They'd need to rebulldoze the path and gravel it to get a concrete truck in there. They need to pour at least 100'-300' down.

[@superchuck3259]

@@jtjones4081 Why does the entire pipe need to be filled with concrete? Sure I get your point, but I am saying there might be alternative ways to plug that will work, it only looks like a 6 inch pipe.

[@MrVirus9898]

If I was Diversified Energy, I would send Bloomberg and that Professor a gift basket. Survey gas wells is work, and sometimes rather difficult to do, but fixing errant wells is not terribly difficult. If they set up a bounty system, I bet they could get tons of people to check these wells and greatly increase production.

[@drivingmylifeaway7149]

They definitely seen the video

[@johnrhardin6460]

Something else I found out.. My friend owns a large working farm that a pipeline goes across his property.. The gas company has a big metal building with a type of control center.. My friend discovered gas was leaking into some of his wells and ponds… He and the gas company went back and forth for years.. Gas company comes and checks everything every so often

[@benhoskins4719]

Do they have wells on or near his land, or just the pipeline? The building is most likely a place for the scent to be injected into the otherwise odorless methane inside the pipeline. The rotten egg smell of a gas leak is added there. If his wells have been contaminated by fracking, I would have someone besides the gas company check it for him. There are many toxic chemicals involved in the extraction process, and you do not want them in your water.

[@johnrhardin6460]

@@benhoskins4719 they have wells to water the cattle and he can switch from county water that runs to his house to well water if needed.. It’s just the pipeline that runs through his pasture.. I see them out there regularly checking them..

[@rubetube4727]

File a notice of claim.

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

So scary, wells aren't worth the danger and liability.

[@Karnegis]

I inspect natural gas wells for an air district in California. The FLIR IR camera only finds large leaks. I prefer to use an Eagle 2 analyzer it is much cheaper than the FLIR ($7,000 vs $90,000) and detects much lower emissions of methane (I am trained to use both devices). The Eagle 2 also gives a quantifiable reading in ppmv and it is hand held unlike that contraption the professor was using. People in the comments think Diversified is a shell company but I seriously doubt it with my experience with the oil and gas industry. Natural gas prices have dropped over the years so most producers shut-in their wells and or sold them. Some companies buy up these old wells gambling that gas prices will go up again in the future and they will put them back into production. They are simply buying cheap hoping for a favorable future to get a return on their investment. I have seen a similar trend in my area as well one company has bought up most of the local well leases.

[@glennnichols4220]

You shpuld check out a guy named Justin Nobel. He did a big article in Rolling Stones last year about the oil abd gas industry and the corruption. I work in ND and see it all the time. Everything is moved by money.

[@HandmadeDarcy]

It is an LLC, they show it at the beginning of the report.

[@DJ-Brownie-UK]

so what if it malfunctioned , causing corrupted data , or interfearance from some nosy person with a magnatron and laser purposely causing confusion at the opposite end ?

[@davidwilson2462]

All the oil companies (large and small) are working this “scam” and all the oil producing states (including my state of Louisiana) know and let them get away with it. The Louisiana even budgets money to “cap abandoned wells”.

[@thaneirwin4688]

Gone down? Here in Australia at the moment were exporting the stuff for twice the price it was 6 months ago. We're pumping as much as we can as fast as we can. With oil production low due to low prices the supply of gas went down with it.

[@CoinCollector]

Anyone else look up the share price of diversified energy!! Down 20% today as this video was published lol 😀😀😀

[@godwin4935]

wow so this was imp

[@fvw88]

Gee I wonder if my heating bill will go up again? 💯

[@NickBotha]

Same thing I did 🤣

[@NickBotha]

@Valon look at the 20% drop they mentioned.. it’s < 20c at the moment If I was them I would try to rent out the wells not used for a small profit.. something is better then nothing

[@David-xo5qq]

@Valon The stock price is down because there is a risk that this video will drive politicians/regulators/judges to take actions / enforce regulations that will hurt Diversified Energy's profitability. If that does indeed happen, then the share price might go down even further. If it doesn't happen, then, yes, the share price might go back up. But that's not guaranteed. In general (as in this specific situation), nobody knows if a stock price will go up or down. The reason that the price of any given stock is what it is at any given moment is because that's the exact price that balances the investors on one side who think the price will go up and on the other side the investors who think the price will go down.

[@robyndiehn888]

I dont know if it already have been done but it would have been wise to let make every company that drills wells a fund for each well from which the plugging can be paid off. If the well goes to an other owner, the fund does too but cannot be used for something other than plugging the well. This ensures that there is always money to close that wells

[@__WJK__]

Yes, similar to how glass soda bottle deposit programs used to work and how plastic and aluminum can deposit programs currently work. Unfortunately, greedy corporations (And DC) tend to see things as "Rules for thee but none for me" }:(

[@smsmoof8128]

you mean create a funded account that floats over time to pay in the future what the funds were intended for ... like Social Security? not sure why it wouldnt work. /s

[@epicaquariums940]

This is the type of news I like seeing investigative reporting and for something that will help generations after us. Great content

[@andrewmottram8596]

You probably believe in Coronavirus and wearing masks too

[@tremendous9667]

The first guy to find a leak: “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

[@mohamedsaid2882]

The photo of joe diaz seeing the devil 😂😂😂

[@Littlebitoferic]

It's no joke, the same problem in Canada, thousands of swells need to plugged. I used to do it, it's a job that will be in high demand if we get our act together.

[@jtjones4081]

@Wary of Extremes It'll take 175,500 more wells just to get the remaining gas out of the Marcellus formations. Source; DOE.

[@ZhmiKnopa]

Nobody does it because every time the ground moves, billions of tons of gas escape. Can’t really plug that.

[@superchuck3259]

Was the cost really 10,000 bucks a well, that seems steep.

[@goodun2974]

Whenever I hear someone complain about lost jobs due to oil and gas pipeline contracts being canceled or halted by environmental concerns, I point out that all of those oil field and pipeline workers could have jobs again, plugging old wells, if a mechanism can be created to pay for it.

[@7_years_and_]

Why is it so expansive to grab few sack of cement and throw it on to the outlet?

[@stevehamilton9486]

I was waiting for just how much this company is “getting rich”. They could be breaking even or even losing money for all we know.

[@philiprobins5488]

Their stock has a 90-day average daily volume of 60K shares and closed today at $0.002 Their ticker is DVFI

[@skoalsoldier]

@@philiprobins5488 they’re a foreign company. Look them up on the London exchange under DEC.

[@justayoutuber1906]

All companies barely make a profit. its all accounting

[@johnslugger]

TRUE! also, the Gulf of Mexico has billions of tons of frozen methane sitting on the bottom of the sea bed that leaks 100000000X more methane than those tiny wells are leaking and its all NATURAL! But its hard to sue mother-nature I guess,,,,,?

[@FluffyBunnySlippers]

Government subsidies

[@JUST_ONE_ID10T]

My great aunt had a well on her property that was sold to her for only like 200 dollars. It wasn't hooked up to the line but made enough gas to heat her house, gas dryer, water heater, and her stove. She bought it back in like the 70's and it died about 4 years ago. She was going to have to pay to plug it but the state bought her property for a high way project and they will be plugging it now. She got a lot of use out of it until it died. My brother has one close to his place that I have no idea who owes but it's not hooked to anything and it's not far off the roadway. It's so old and no idea when it would of been used last. I grow up in the house he lives in and I was born in 1976 and I don't recall it ever being hooked to anything. No idea who owes it or if anyone owes it. these are in Pennsylvanian

[@wackytheshaggy]

Classic example of privatise profits, socialise costs. They will go bankrupt after using those wells, just as they need to be plugged. And every one known it. The policy makers just don’t want to deal with it yet, the shareholders are enjoying the dividends and the CEO a fast pay packet.

[@tigertactical1591]

I think I'll add this stock to my IRA.

[@ajoc1070]

Rusty is the only guy that will get rich from this

[@jajajinks1569]

@@ajoc1070 And his shareholders! ...unless the gov gets their act together and stops their BS business

[@pascalladal8125]

@@jajajinks1569 yeh cuz I pity the shareholders of this company if a some states finally decide to force them to plug them. It will just collapse.

[@jajajinks1569]

@@pascalladal8125 Why would you pity the shareholders? They knew the company's whole scheme was to get paid off of being "liable" for these methane leaking wells, and not doing anything about the gas. They're actively profiting off of causing more damage, while doing nothing to mitigate it. They deserve to be harmed & more, they should be fined.

[@johnnysmoke612]

Hint: Former natural gas worker here. How to check for gas leaks without expensive equipment. A 5 gallon or less spray rig with dawn dish washing liquid and water. Works similar to seeing the dew bubbles, but with more obvious suds and bubbles. Duh!

[@SigFigNewton]

Likely not useful for legal purposes. Company would claim we don’t know whether the gas that is emerging is methane

[@In20xx]

Great research. Thanks for making this!

[@johnnelson5083]

If they were truly business people, the idea of leaking 600% of what you are selling would horrify them. There is obviously a different game going on and Pennsylvania got played.

[@billsmith5166]

Even if there is already an agreement in force, a lot of what I'm seeing can be substantially reduced with pretty simple plumbing repairs. They won't be as permanent as plugging, but they would reduce the leaks dramatically.

[@rcisneros8567]

My guess is they wouldn't spend any amount. Reminds me of a sitcom where they go to divorce court and someone asks for 100k or something and the court gives them 300k. 1000 years to plug them. Wow. I'm surprised they didn't make the states apologize to too.

[@brahmburgers]

Easier said than done. Half those ancient joints are probably so rusty, they'd become decrepit if unscrewed/disjointed. Workers might need pipe wrenches 6' long. PA should have mandated 250 wells/yr be plugged - rather than the ridiculously inadequate 20.

[@rcisneros8567]

@@brahmburgers If that's the case, cut them and seal them. If they can fix them, then bring them back on. Who is allowed to keep breaking the rules until THEY can get around to fixing it? Crazy.

[@misterbulger]

They would up the production too

[@krisgreenwood5173]

@@brahmburgers It's simple, the law makers acquiesced to campaign donation dollars.

[@RichardLaurence]

Amazing detective work - kudos to you

[@noah2333]

What does judo mean

[@calvaryassemblyofgodsouthi8046]

@@noah2333 🤔 huh?

[@Crackhouts]

If methane was visible to the human eye, my backside would be flashing red lights.

[@enzomolinari9141]

It's great to see energy companies be proactive and work with regulators to find real solutions to emissions legislation

[@Petrosilius]

:D

[@amaadmunir6478]

Great, another problem that I have no control over which I'm going to be worrying about now.

[@michaeldose2041]

What about cow farts, are you worried about those? Well, now you are hahahahahaha

[@alexspadini]

I bet you have plenty of your own problems you don’t spend much time worrying about.

[@SegoMan]

Volcanoes release more pollutants into the atmosphere than these wells do, where's the hit piece on that???

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

We can volunteer to do citizen data science and to find/report wells.

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

@@SegoMan that's misinformation

[@Paul_Caruana]

Well done piece of investigative journalism. It highlights that the greenhouse problem is far more complex than just CO2 emission reduction. You have to wonder how many abandoned old leaking oil wells exist worldwide.

[@lutomson3496]

Plants love c02 and methane is natural..hmm

[@golfscienceguru]

CO2 may be just the tip of the iceberg.

[@StevenCampbell1955]

@@lutomson3496 Your thinking that more CO2 will give plants a growth boost? Yes, and the CO2 heats up the atmosphere just that little bit faster and the temperature rises just that little bit and the oceans' temp rises and the weather patterns get more vigorous and the towns get flooded and wind blown and....wearenothappycampers.

[@willkrummeck]

yeah i found one in the middle of nowhere burning after it got hit by lightening, oldcoal mine there apparently it was burning for like 4 years.

[@glennnichols4220]

@@StevenCampbell1955 So what's your answer or what are you doing about it?

[@aum1040]

This is GREAT reporting!

[@TheDerperado]

More people need to know about this.

[@CIARUNSITE]

I love how Bloomberg spends money reporting on problems that can be directly tied to the financial industry they make all their money from. Feeling a little guilty the billionaire tosses us some crumbs.

[@AWBepi]

Mr Flowermountain flies around in a private jet. He didn't get there by working against his own interests.

[@DJ-Brownie-UK]

the guilt ridden gilted do gooders from corpse familys pay for their luxury lifestyles and trips to the applacia , but they so tight ,they prob got this paid for by more sponsored corporated dead entitys

[@rock3tcatU233]

They play both sides, that way they always come up on top.

[@STuPification]

And how about the big gal professor? How do we know she wasnt the one emitting methane gas? Maybe we could get every environmentalist to make that ultimate sacrifice for mother earth and commit suicide..what a noble cause!

[@shanechostetler9997]

Love that!

[@gpsfinancial6988]

They need to fined enough to make it economic to fix them, but not enough to bankrupt them. That way the behavior would be discouraged, but tax payers would be protected from the financial burden of their failure.

[@dontehoward1554]

The power of learning

[@Phat737]

That’s 15 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.

[@jeremiasrobinson]

We need more people doing this.

[@qqwee9014]

No we dont

[@John-jc4om]

But will our governments do anything?

[@Hillberty224]

@@John-jc4om federal govt. definitely won’t, as for state govt., dependant on the state but as they said in the video, the liability produced by Diversified Energy onto the state will probably result in the state not interventing much.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

As if there aren't a ton of people scruitinizing and/or harassing anyone connected to natural gas? I say sir, if there weren't enough people doing this, you wouldn't see this on MSM.

[@mrpumperknuckles1631]

No we don’t

[@peredavi]

There are many abandoned and orphaned wells. I would bet that ---- will draw as much profit out of those old wells, siphon money off to dividends ,stock options and bonuses, declare bankruptcy and ride off into the sunset. I hunt and hike by lots of old wells in the Rocky Mountain region. Loads of decrepit well heads.

[@kaymish6178]

Hey hey, have some empathy. Shareholders need those dividends, if we didn't get them we would have to do something drastic and work for a living. Edit: typo

[@L0rd0fLight1]

@@kaymish6178 "only rich people invest", and that my friend is why poor people stay poor generation after generation, money makes money, anyone can invest.

[@kaymish6178]

@@L0rd0fLight1 I agree, anyone can invest I was kind of making a tongue in cheek joke.

[@glennnichols4220]

Do you work in the oilfield?

[@th.h.4947]

That's why in the case of accident, the (former) board is personally liable for damage with their PRIVATE assets is so important, as it is German law now! Companies can change their trade company as many times in the year as they want, letting go bankrupt an empty "coat" every now and them, with some "poor" scapegoats in the commerce registers... The real men/women behind often always manoevering out of the shadows of massive capital influence..... Wirecard also had some figures in the back, or on a island, which profited massively from the blown up numbers...

[@corringhamdepot4434]

My father worked in an oil refinery, and once he fixed a low pressure leak on his home gas meter piping by just smearing over the joint with some jointing compound. He said that they used to do it at work all the time.

[@darrellhagan6124]

Thank you for highlighting this problem. But the trouble is that nothing will be done to address any of this in the foreseeable future because money is more important.

[@jaybelle1909]

DW deliberately picked 60 year old pipes to try pushing a false disingenuous narrative that pipe leaks are a serious issue when it's not and you drank the coolaid... even with these 60 year old pipes there is no serious leaks shown to warrant fixing as the amount leaking is completely insignificant... lakes and oceans are the main cause of methane in the atmosphere not ppl emissions as ppl contributions are extremely minute save for localized areas... If a significant leak was ever detected the companies will fix them or plug them up right away per they would risk hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and would receive cease and desist license orders; DW/vice is too ignorant to understand this very basic knowledge... In third world nations some companies sometimes get away with things but even in those nations are strick environmental security measures...

[@raydreamer7566]

This is so interesting that at a time when energy is so expensive we allow so much natural energy to be wasted ... I could see a small solar powered vacuum pump creating a negative pressure ( vacuum ) into a storage tank then an automated wireless messaging system to signal a gas retrieving operation.... This will attract investors of all ages and fanatical abilities

[@leejones1041]

you should be working with the team, apply for a job, no, im not joking, if ths came to you, get onto the company, they know you are here.

[@compwiz00]

hmm, burn it on site and power some mining ASICs if it's hard to reach. that way you help can fund the rest of your operation without spending lots of money on transportation, PV panels, ans storage, all of which produce lots of pollution to build and maintain. But if transportation and storage is convenient, you can probably use some of the gas to power a compressor, since you would need enough solar panels and batteries to power my house otherwise. Those would save more pollution powering EVs and homes rather than compressors in in the woods, I think.

[@leejones1041]

@@compwiz00 I had the same idea, make some bitcoins or ethereum from the by waste products, hope to see you in the greater scheme of things sometime compwiz.....

[@Brian-bp5pe]

"At the end of the day what we're really focused on is our commitment to our share holders" - Rusty Hutson, Diversified Energy CEO. In that one sentence, he told the world that his company won't be doing anything substantial to stop the methane gas that is leaking from their tens of thousands of gas wells.

[@billwilson3609]

The states don't really care since the wells are releasing a minor amount of NG that doesn't pose a danger.

[@Brian-bp5pe]

@@billwilson3609 Hi Bill, perhaps you have missed the point of the video? As they speak directly to this issue.

[@sheilamclaughlin963]

They will in time

[@Brian-bp5pe]

@@sheilamclaughlin963 Sheila, the video addresses your proposition. They won't.

[@nathenmorris1174]

Its like they want other people to pay for a clean up they wont do while you pay again to freeze in your own homes with a completely clean source of energy remaining untapped yet advertisable through Bloomberg

[@TheDavidlloydjones]

In 1965 I interviewed a guy, on behalf of the CBC's This Hour Has Seven Days, who had capped, he said, 17,000 old gas well in the Niagara Peninsula. His reas, he said, was that he expected the empty space to be useful for some unspecified, perhaps unknown, reason in the future. Anybody heard anything in the 55 years since?

[@ic3olate]

Important information here. I think we need to make a point of discussing the whole range of greenhouse gases as it seems even people relatively concerned with climate change tend to only focus on carbon dioxide. I'm personally very curious if Diversified also owns wells in the Appalachians further south, mainly in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

[@burningokane6320]

Never heard of a "frac well" but what is shown is a drilling rig burning off excess gas that was being pushed up during drilling. Frac is hydraulic fracturing which the drilling is already done. They're trying to open the formation to allow more gas to be produced.

[@gordoncushman7807]

Released not produced.

[@runcheatthereaper9016]

There are tens of thousands of gas wells in Colorado. Of the many that I saw, all of them were 'flaring' off gas 24/7.

[@KainYusanagi]

@@runcheatthereaper9016 Yeah, I've always found that to be super dumb. Why wouldn't you want to capture that gas instead of wastefully burn it? If you want to maintain the rate of gain, just restrict flow.

[@laymanfamily7419]

@@runcheatthereaper9016 baloney

[@MrChidorinagashi10]

@@KainYusanagi becuase theyre after the oil, not the gas. If they gotta burn extra gas in order to get the oil, they will

[@douglashughes2331]

In reality the CEO knows he will be gone with his money long before the chickens come home to roost

[@gmcinnis6304]

yup file bankruptcy and head to non extradition country with his big bags of dinero

[@karlvanzat4084]

Great report, thank you. This continues to be a big issue around the country, and much relates to the almost nonexistent bonding obligations impose on the industry and increasingly weaker regulations for abandoned wells. These companies get billions in subsidies that we all pay for, but they do nothing to plug these wells which affects us all, including the children of the company owners.

[@cardboardboxification]

why is it a big issue ?? LOL oil is 100% organic , and produces CO2 plant food ... 100% echo friendly

[@vampireslayer1989]

Just like they do not bond wind turbines end-of-life disposal (and subsidies).

[@soggybottomboys4302]

These two people are sitting in an office and one day decide to go to the field and shame the industry that allows them to sit in an office. You cant make this up.

[@LeoYambao]

Abandonment can be costly; sometimes they have to perforate zones and do a cement squeeze then bubble test on surface; If bubble test fails they will have to redrill the cement and plug, re perforate again and bubble test; till it pass. Sounds easy to do but time consuming. Clean up can be costly on some wells; We can blame old owner neglect after they sell it; and some wells because of transfers will have lost well data; which will add a few more steps to be abandoned properly. There is definitely A LOT of work to do here as there are so many existing wells.

[@foranken]

This is a well done documentary for sure. No high-pitched wailing about disaster, but a calm, reasoned explanation of how death by a thousand cuts can occur over time. A difficult problem to solve, as illustrated by the back and forth between regulators and companies. Perhaps the regulators should focus less on the expensive well plugging, and insist that piping maintenance be done at a much faster pace. That may very well reduce the amount of escaped methane to a quite reasonable level much faster than the agreement to plug 20 wells a year.

[@HighSchoolNotes]

definitely well done. happy to give it a plug.

[@jeffery19677]

Government regulators don't want solutions! They want to bully companies. Not just oil and gas regulators. They make up arbitrary rules every year to justify their existence. HOPEFULLY, Diversified gets their act together and rebuilds these wells and makes investors Millions!

[@wenderbread78]

@@jeffery19677 They're a shell company so that Oil and gas companies don't have to worry about the liabilities

[@marcryvon]

@@jeffery19677 Keep dreaming buddy ! Why did the previous owners abandon those wells in the first place do you think ? Because they were profiable ? Of course not ! 🙄

[@b_uppy]

It looks at plugging rather than utilizing the methane however. That seems a waste. Fuel is expensive. Methane is fuel. Imagine if these were made accessible for tapping by private individuals. Bet if that were allowed these companies would clean these up immediately rather than allow people to utilize the waste.

[@TimeSurfer206]

to put 9:45 into perspective, the 8,000 cubic feet this well produced is a mere 11% of the average ANNUAL use of an American household. It may SOUND insignificant, but the 6 times that that's being emitted without being burnt is not. And this is just one well. Ponder how many wells there are... Small leaks add up.

[@dlyciousmusic]

It's easy to say the leaking connections can be repaired/ replaced using teflon tape, pipe dope, epoxy, grease. But if the shut-off valve is fragile, rusty, leaking, then that's an extrellmely big problem of isolating that well for repair.

[@rubetube4727]

The problem I see with maintaining these greedy death traps is that it looks easy to add some pipe dope, but when you break one fitting from an old corroded well, you could cause other leaks. Opening a can of worms. Just plug them all. If you don't like that, go to mars.

[@lpcfarm4611]

If a bee is choosing to hang out in the opening where the leak is coming from, it can't be much of a leak.

[@KainYusanagi]

It showed plenty of signs of chemical intoxication.

[@braydengordon5001]

You are uninformed

[@DarthSmirnoff]

I'm fairly sure that the end of the world will begin with the words "Our commitment to shareholders".

[@nancyneyedly4587]

I was shocked/not shocked when he said that. Like he didn't even try to pretend like they gave any concern for the environment or possible safety issues.

[@G-M818]

I couldn’t think of a better way to try and eliminate any potential competition than this. People probably will actually believe this

[@Auger3504]

I have to say, I didn't know about Diversified. Thanks for the stock tip. BTW they have a program to inspect and repair the wells now. They are closing some of the less productive ones.

[@persistenthustle]

It will be interesting to see diversified energy on the list of political contributors of those state law makers

[@PacoOtis]

Well, it appears there are two culprits. The greed of the gas companies & the cowardice of the enforcers! What does one do? Best of luck to all of us.

[@glennnichols4220]

You got that right. But let's make sure we stick that to every indurlstry from oil and gas to Nestle

[@clint9542]

Im from Alberta and ive worked in the oil industry for several years and i haven't even heard of that company

[@justindevos2494]

Plug and abandon (p&a) can get pretty costly the state dictates the process which is usually overkill I would say $20K would be the absolute cheapest. Getting equipment needed to p&a these wells back to some of these remote areas could cost 20k alone. I think the real issue is why would a company be purchasing all these wells from larger e&ps knowing they are practically worthless. Sounds like a giant loophole to me.

[@voisindo]

You're probably 100% right.

[@kristensorensen2219]

Just imagine the money the EPA could make on fines for this pollution? Is this illegal or not? Call your member of Congress and start the ball rolling on a new source of fines for funding the Federal Government's spending problem.🤣🤣

[@seabass3104]

What should the EPA do with the, “fine” money?

[@davidwilson2462]

If EPA starts issuing fines and/or pressure this small (under capitalized) LLC company to fix or cap well, company will file bankruptcy. That is how the “scam” is planned to work.

[@th.h.4947]

@@seabass3104 seal the wells e.g.

[@locacharliewong]

This should be well addressed by all the government in the world.

[@asandax6]

No We shouldn't be relying on Governments. The more power the Government has the more corrupt it gets i.e China.

[@jajajinks1569]

@@asandax6 Obviously China is bad, but right now the US's government is toothless. We need to have them step up against businesses, which are increasingly polluting, monopolizing our country to death.

[@Lena-vw6ye]

@@asandax6 I don't even really feel like China is really that corrupt. I do business there and was at the Guangzhou Canton Fair and travelled all across. Their cities are actually quite modern and people live very peacefully. The news says some crazy stuff about China but I've never experienced or seen anything of that sort when dealing with them or visiting almost all parts of China.

[@asandax6]

@@Lena-vw6ye When I say China I was talking about it's government not it's people.

[@yengsabio5315]

No! The well owners must be the one addressing the problems. If not, they must face legal consequences.

[@BairMendoza]

Wait. Rachel took a legit course. She seems pretty pro to me! And Amy Townsend is a superhero. 💯👍🏼😱

[@thesilentgeneration]

Incredible, this is what big business is doing to our environment all for the sake of profits but destroying the ecosystem at the same time. In the interest of economics, the states are allowing them to do it!

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Looks like the main problem is most of these wells aren't worth fixing, enabling Diversified to buy the rust buckets for peanuts but still giving them trouble keeping them all up to code.

[@mrpumperknuckles1631]

Diversify doesn’t buy only ones that don’t work they buy wells that are very much still full but because their locations are so far from the rest is society it becomes hard to actually perform…. Most of these wells could probably last for about 10-15 years before they run dry permanently if it is still leaking methane than that means there is material that could still be used for fuel.

[@jakequinn2968]

No no, the regulators don’t have a tough time. They chose this, just as much as they could choose to fine the ceos, shareholders, and tax oil to pay to block them up.

[@paulpaul246]

This presentation is very very cordial very nice very polite very detailed very balanced scientific research. There is a problem regarding these leaking Wells

[@ninga1154]

thank you for your time and work

[@alext8828]

We went from leaking to plugging awfully fast. What happened to fixing?

[@curtisgrindahl446]

Do any of those wells look like they generate enough gas to warrant "fixing?" I didn't think so.

[@cbmbdb]

Most of those leaks could be fixed with pipe dope and problem solved.

[@Ezikeal]

Maintaining They did not.

[@ranadeepsingh]

This is so interesting! I had no idea this was even a thing!

[@gmcinnis6304]

i wud think that compared to all the REAL GAS that has been vented into the atmosphere when gas was... still is.. in many places in the world a by product of OIL WELLS.. the gas that is leaking is trivial. just either fix the valve/tighten the fitting or make a night light out of the gas leaking so the little animals can have a night light to socialize with. i wud. make a wind proof thing, run little hose to little piece of pipe for the firebox. make little box around it for the animals to have warm place to sleep at night... the little animals, not the big ones.

[@jonathanhadden8199]

Well they don't need to plug leaving wells, they just need to replace the equipment. They would actually increase their profits if they started doing that.

[@LostHistoryUncovered]

I work for diversified and we are fixing all the leaks as we find them.

[@jjosephm7539]

There are many natural gas seeps. If you stick a pipe in some creek beds in Appalachia, you can light a flame with the methane.

[@michaeldose2041]

You are correct and it's not just there. As organic matter decomposes in an anoxic environment that is what you get. When you look a typical pond with a black mud bottom those bubbles that come up are methane.

[@pipegang6497]

You can't explain that to liberal idiots they think they know more about this stuff then the people in that field

[@flower2289]

@@pipegang6497 Liberals love to have something to worry about and protest. I find it difficult to believe that the gas seeping from these wells is that big of an environmental problem.

[@lewissmith1635]

That's right!

[@th.h.4947]

Sell it to the Ukraine, as their neighbours keep them in a painfull dependency, they will appreciate every m3 of this stuff. :-) Guaranteed!

[@superchuck3259]

If someone had an abandoned well on their property, they could burn or capture the gas for their own use. Is it stealing? Or saving the environment?

[@FowlorTheRooster1990]

Surely these companies would do that as there is a growing demand for methane in gas power stations, as methane can be a renewable source of gas because it can be produced by plant decay.

[@MrToradragon]

I don't know, but there is some risk associated with that. Without some sensors you would be unable to find leaks as methane is odorless, the typical smell is from substances added to gas and not from gas itself. I believe they use different substances for different types of gas as propane and natural gas smell differently.

[@mikeclarke3005]

if not being used, abandoned, on my land, I am using it!

[@gmcinnis6304]

they do that in some places use casing head gas to warm things/run the oil pump mule motor. seems like a total waste to just let it leak. better to burn it as that gas is less harmful to the environment than methane is... so flare it. make little heater/lights for the little animals to be warm at night and have a night light to socialize at night. i wud.

[@SegoMan]

@@MrToradragon Methane is odorless in your hose due to the refining, at the well head not so much. I on many of times wondered what that poor dino ate...

[@ghostprepper5859]

Stock is just over a $1 it looks like a freaking great time to buy! Guaranteed money returns I am on the site now checking it out. 2001 is when they started WOW 😳 they just closed New Acquisitions for $240 million 1500 more wells Ok and TX Thanks for the Tip. We just purchased 1200 shares! They will get the Wells taken care of because the price of Gas is expected to triple in the next 2 years

[@theaequalitatem5155]

Congratulations! Very responsible reporting

[@anger9984]

Amazing work guys! The high flow sampler looks straight from the 60s haha

[@davidmizak4642]

You provide such great material to your viewers. I appreciate all of your hard work. I truly appreciate it!

[@andrew6658]

We need some activist and some flex seal to visit those wells and do our climate a favor, along with everyone living

[@unionrunner1]

Yo yo yo, Tarzan Grill here! Nice hat Zachary! If you need some Tarzan Grill shirts to go with it, let me know!

[@gus473]

👍🏼 Excellent work, folks! 😎✌🏼

[@sagarprasad1436]

Their share price fell 20% in a day. WOW. Also acc to google they have a dividend yield is of 11%, seems like they are in a hurry to make money for their shareholders before they declare themselves bankrupt.

[@willkrummeck]

weow

[@Dieselpwr]

sniffer device goes off just from breathing on it

[@skjoldgames]

I wonder if there's a way we could make an "external" pipe dope compound like epoxy putty or construction adhesive. Apply that quickly to the outside of pipe joints without having to disassemble the pipes, in a quick and easy way that wouldn't take a skilled technician. If the states went for fed funding, it would create jobs and make use of the wasted gas. If I were the state I'd let the gas company decide. They can fix the leaks themselves, or the state can hire techs to fix them and take 20-30% of corporate profits as reimbursement.

[@jaybelle1909]

Yes but the leaks shown by DW are too insignificant to even warrant a visit... State have no authority to do what you suggested... Environmental laws and restrictions are all ready very strict and if a significant leak was ever detected companies would risk hundreds of thousands even millions in fines and more seriously a cease and desist shut down order and cancelation of mining license; this has been the case for many decades; ignorant bubble living ppl like dw don't understand this very basic common knowledge or of they do they just push propaganda anyways

[@skjoldgames]

@@jaybelle1909 So you support the natural gas companies that let these wells leak unabated?

[@jayarnold8883]

I live in Norfolk County in Ontario Canada. I live close to leaking gas well which is contaminating the local watershed and air. No one appears to own the well and local and provincial governments don't seem to care. It seems to be so much easier to close the road and post keep out signs than to deal with the problem. Somebody drilled that we'll and somebody is responsible for cleaning it up yet nobody seems to care.

[@balanced4harvest552]

If I was the Premier of OntarioWeOwe, I would Fire all the Moe, Ministry of the Environment Inspectors and hierarchy, for failure in "Duty of Care!" Only Whistle-blowers need reapply!

[@pastexpiry2013B]

@@balanced4harvest552 which one? McGuinty or Wynne?

[@georgepruitt637]

Welcome to Texas !

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

Please tell your EPA and county 🙏

[@jayarnold8883]

@@pastexpiry2013B Doug Ford is our premier . Crystal Chopp is our municipal mayor .

[@drakeblessum3466]

Thank you for this video and for making us aware. Their stock has fallen 20% since ur video and I hope that gets their attention. Plugging 20 a year is not enough.

[@philiprobins5488]

This is an inaccurate statement. This is a penny stock. Diversified's common stock has been trading for less than a penny for the last 10 years. It sounds more like what others have suggested . . . a clearing house for the big oil companies to divest their liabilities. I'm sure the CEO is on Big Oil payroll. There appears to be zero cash flow coming from these wells.

[@skoalsoldier]

@@philiprobins5488 I believe you’re referring to DVFI, which is not the same. DEC trades on the London exchange, and is currently sitting at 138.10

[@jaybelle1909]

DB, none of the leaks in the vid warrant fixing and DW deliberately looked for 60 year old pipes to push a false narrative

[@soulsurfer8797]

Amazing video. Consider buying 150-250cc electric dirt bikes or electric mountain bikes and add saddle bags to mitigate the time liability. Plus this will allow you all to inspect way more wells.

[@anthonymccrossan1212]

Very strange these 2 reporters are investigating leaking Wells of methane gas but are blinded by the gas emissions from their cars....who's paying who....

[@robertcurry4118]

45 years ago I came across many leaking wells in West Virginia and was pretty stunned. I was informed it's just business as usual. As a fifteen year old kid concerned about the environment this seemed totally unnecessary and foolish. But of course the companies already know this.

[@kingofcrunk4237]

I thought it was really cool to come across old wells, and even an old derrick or two, once in a while in PA during the 1980's. Spoke of the history of that area. Now there are houses build on those lands. I bet they don't know what's underneath them.

[@jamesferguson536]

Some of this gas would be leaking naturally. The wells just provide a faster route to the surface. Old coal mines give off gas too.

[@__WJK__]

@@jamesferguson536 - Agree and on a side note, this is what I don't get about the manmade ad nauseam guilt trip agenda... seeing how the earth's crust/mantle off-gasses a ton of things. So, who exactly do the powers that be blame/guilt regarding all the geo-thermal activity and/or all the volacanos that spew tons of heat, debris and gasses into the atmosphere, a majority of which stays in the upper atmosphere for years(?)

[@runcheatthereaper9016]

@@__WJK__ That was the natural background level for eons. We have tapped into even more, thereby greatly increasing the amounts in the atmosphere.

[@__WJK__]

@@runcheatthereaper9016 - After looking into the situation further, I would agree.

[@MartinPittBradley]

Shareholder value > Our kids’ breathing 02

[@russellosborne4051]

I suggest a call for all of these to be plugged immediately a public call for this company to immediately plug all of these

[@ItsAmnyZ]

Appalchia is so beautiful, such a shame if we were to lose those trees/wildlife one way or another...

[@mygoogleemail2063]

All of that was clear cut at one point or another. Trees grow back.

[@tillu92]

lol their shares tanked 20% in a day! We need more of this investigative journalism and shareholder activism to force companies to take action. Without this report, all this would have gone unnoticed and these wells would have belched methane for a long time.

[@QASIMARA]

Imagine scientists protesting in the streets, chanting, "Stop the leaks! Prevent global warming!"

[@MrToradragon]

I think that is one way how to get some people and companies on the board. It is not just about environment, but about gains and well, you can now market it as issue of national security as well.

[@well-foo]

First sight of the video I thought that's the Big South Fork. I played on these as a kid 😂🤣

[@mec7568]

What about all of the methane that escapes through natural fractures in rock? And what about vegetation decomposing on a grand scale everywhere?

[@LaplacianFourier]

Kudos for real old-fashioned muckraking journalism! 👍

[@terrywarner8657]

I am surprised there are no regulations or obligation on the owners to visit each well site on a structured and routine basis.

[@barrywassel3899]

Ahhhhh, that's the Republican way, my friend. "make millions and die in your own refuse" !!!!

[@johnnelson5083]

@@barrywassel3899 Where are the democrats? These wells aren't new, how come President Obama didn't order them capped years ago?? The reality is, its not either party (but if you want to blame one, I'll counter with the other which has been in power for 11 of the last 16 years. How can it be the democrats allowed all these greenhouse gases to be emitted while they were in control?

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

There are, you have to report them to EPA for enforcement

[@jaybelle1909]

@@barrywassel3899 you live in a bubble; you should pop it

[@jaybelle1909]

TW, there are and companies can face hundreds of thousands to millions in fines or worse cease and desist shut down orders and banking of licenses... DW deliberately picked 60 year old pipes to try pushing a false narrative none of the leaks shown where significant to warrant a repair

[@chetalger873]

The problem isn't the gas. Its the people who are supposed to maintain those well heads. That boils down to who's not paying their emoyees to do their jobs.