Meet The Retired Oil Exec Plugging Forgotten Wells To Reduce Emissions | World Wide Waste

Nine million Americans live near an orphan oil and gas well. These wells have no owner and they were never sealed, so they're leaking out tons of methane and deadly gases unchecked. Some are 150 years old, and were lost with time. So finding and plugging them with cement can be so costly, most states don't have the funds to do it. But with $4.7 billion in funds to address this problem passed with the Infrastructure Bill, there's renewed hope. We follow one ex-oil executive and his team as he hunts down and plugs forgotten oil wells.
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Meet The Retired Oil Exec Plugging Forgotten Wells To Reduce Emissions | World Wide Waste

[@BusinessInsider]

We want your help expanding Insider's videos about the environment, climate change, and sustainability. Tell us your thoughts in this 2-3 minute survey: bit.ly/InsiderWWWsurvey 

 Thanks so much!

[@gshak33]

Oil companies should have to set aside a trust for every well they drill with enough money to cover cleanup.

[@LynxenX]

You think oil companies are responsible enough to do that? If they dont profit, they dont do it. Simple.

[@bananacrusader9502]

Modern companies do have to plug them by law its the old wells they are plugging up

[@jeff4952]

@@LynxenX Because no one listened to the video - The wells they're plugging are all very old and predate regulations that require companies to responsibly abandon wells. They even predate when wells were tracked. I can't say i've heard of an orphaned well that's not decades old. Also, while everyone does it different, texas for example uses taxes/fees it charges to E&P companies to plug orphaned wells.

[@charlieinabox1164]

@@jeff4952 They said most are old but they also said operators that go bankrupt happen too and did not state these were old as well... 2:41 You didn't listen. What Gabe is saying that all oil companies need to pay a fee to the state they drill in to cover the cost of pugging the well that is refundable one plugging the well themselves but in the event they go under and are unable to the state can take care of it. Now, trusting the government not to inappropriately use the funds and still be unable to pay for it is another story.

[@chrispaul1117]

they play all kinds of games.. they set up a small corp , address at a po box then go out of business when they well dries up ,maybe throw in a bankruptcy

[@michellebaron7592]

*YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE GREAT TO START BUT YOU HAVE TO START TO BE GREAT! - NANCY SHERWOOD*

[@jakekgfn]

Finally someone is doing something about those toxic orphans

[@ObesePuppies]

… uhh… “retired oil exec is now plugging the oil wells” .. red flag… that basically means a oil company started a “nonprofit” to get money from the public and placed their own employees to supposedly plug the wells. Nothing on this video makes any sense.

[@blacdiamond2334]

lol

[@PeaceMastah]

@@darae3936 whoosh

[@kweep1]

@@darae3936 um you alright?

[@DES.REVER.DESIGNS]

What do trumps unwanted children have to do with this?

[@justinvance2116]

Im a driller for a company that plugs abandoned wells in Pa and Wv. Respect to all of these guys that do it. It’s tough physical work. I have a college degree and this pays so much better than my 4 years of college ever will.

[@barrywassel3899]

Your company should be famous, Justin, doing that great work. But alas, Capitalists don't care, they just move on and let people die.

[@spicykittyh1]

For most people in most fields, anything less than a masters degree is probably not an economical choice in the end. Employers just keep raising the bar for us and lowering it for themselves.

[@alielabdimarras7965]

@@spicykittyh1 Financing wars and military all over the world costs cash, so you guys have to work more.

[@dollin9515]

@@alielabdimarras7965 its not so simple as america being imperialistic- its corporate greed as well. Many different factors but we are going thru a time where a lot of our older generations literally had brain damage from lead poisoning. Our government has also let corporations get away with way too much. To put it as simply as possible- the nation has become a nation of cash and coin instead of people and politics.

[@dollin9515]

What degree did you get? Can anyone get into this sort of thing?

[@Ed_Crumbs]

I don't think I'll be able to forget the Well Done Foundation. Like, come ON that is one hell of a good name!

[@callspreadzero854]

Glad he highlighted Louisiana. I could take them to hundreds if not thousands across the marsh and around the delta. Most are from the early oil boom in the 1900’s. Where they plugged this one in the video, around Shreveport to Oil City, there’s tons of old orphans.

[@vyros.3234]

Same in Texas also

[@kev.s5104]

Yeah im from shreveport and i agree

[@alien9279]

If you guys know of them, please report them! Locals have unique insight into these locations, and locations are critical!

[@user-kw7gv4fj8x]

You might actually wanna contact them it would save them so much time. I wish it were cheaper to plug these wells :(

[@anthonyvarga2914]

Why don’t you contact them to offer

[@AnimeSunglasses]

It's outrageous that so few execs, in ANY industry, have this man's sense of responsibility. He ought to be the standard.

[@waddney4121]

I would guess it's for the carbon credits

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@@waddney4121 he's gone far beyond the usual mark of rich people trying to buy credit. While one COULD ascribe the difference to the engineers' love of just doing physical stuff... You know the saying that overestimating your enemies can be as dangerous as underestimating them? There's a similar principal in not rejecting an ally just because of their background.

[@waddney4121]

@@AnimeSunglasses check out the wikki page, they sell carbon credits, look at it from a business standpoint, great way to secure carbon credits while being exempt from federal tax,

[@peterrowe6055]

You may be surprised to know that there are other retired senior oil and gas executives involved in orphan well abandonment programs. To implement these programs requires a team of specialists with knowledge in all aspects of the petroleum industry. Former senior executives play a key role in working with regulators to assemble the financial and technical resources required to carry out a Legacy Well abandonment programs.

[@electro46475]

The same way you have to pay deposit for your house you rent before you rent it, the same way these companies should give each state the money to cover the cost of closing the well before they even allow them to drill in the first place. Put that money in some protected account that nobody can touch with some descent interest rate to cover inflation and then everybody is happy. The companies, the states, the people, the environment!

[@cookiemon420]

The USA in General has a non-interventionist policy, which makes it closer to a free market than a place like Europe. Also big oil is called big called big oil for a reason

[@jorik41]

Let's see giving money to government to garantie safe disposable when they extracted all whealt out of a spot or giving money to there politicians friends to not do that and bend the rules for them. I wonder what big companies choices🤔

[@madewithrealdiamonds]

@@jorik41 dude, our biggest issue in America is elitist corruption. These people don't see the effects of their actions because they have lake and mountain houses. It's easy for them not to care. Oil companies should be taxed heavily for each plastic they produce, and a plug deposit is a great idea. We need to get rid of these corrupt elitist politicians.

[@hanleyk]

@@jorik41 lol Louisiana? no corruption here!

[@jorik41]

@Bend Over perfect we in europe will like to buy that oil. Pump i up just stop waisting money on bribing politician i mean "donating to there campaigns" and just pay a good Crew to seal those holes when you are done. The people around there already speak a bit funny don't make it worse by contaminating there water 😅.

[@ph11p3540]

Oil field work is rough, hard and dirty work on the human body. Our modern society cannot function at all without guys like this. So glad to see some of these guys come back and cap those old wells properlty.

[@landenblanchfield4624]

That’s why they pay insane taxes. Companies should cap their own if they’ve not bankrupt

[@dertythegrower]

Huge respect, but all those profits were reaped with these guys truly not caring about the end results beside their own profits (even by my own family was in oil and oil trucks) in Wyoming ive seen other fishy drivers doing stuff to avoid dumping costs, or proving how much they use, all similar to these well owners like this, and they cut corners and dump there to this day (yes in 2020 ive seen it there in the casper area) where people dump frack sand at night in random fields to avoid cost to companies as oil has dropped.. small business takes all the business expense while oil company middle men just control prices and market of profits to the small guy

[@jamessaunders1926]

With 4.7 billion on the table you cannot be serious.

[@bandman4lbandman4l68]

@@landenblanchfield4624 fr!

[@yahwehvii6059]

@Bend Over No one is doing that with the wells left behind though. Might as well plug them up.

[@mandeep3.14]

This is depressing but a lil hopeful. This guy is doing extraordinary work 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 I hope that it’s compulsory for creators to close what they open somehow cos that’s just mad. I can’t believe that no one was notified and that many we’re able to get away with such a serious crime.

[@Corrupted14]

It's easy to avoid the law by having the owner be a corporation, have the corporation pay out the real owners and "go bankrupt", and then they just open a new corporation.

[@IsraelistheJewsland]

Sounds like bullshit- 1985 some one was killed and they are making a video about this today because of what? An agenda that I an neither for or against because i dont fully get it yet.

[@VieneLea]

Didn't you watch the video? It is absolutely compulsory now, but the wells were made before the 50s.

[@IsraelistheJewsland]

@@VieneLea liberals

[@corporateamerica4530]

Sir, rules and getting convicted only apply to the peasants banks and corporations are tax & conviction exempt

[@chi-jenyang9752]

For decades, I have heard about this. Big oil companies sell their near-exhausted wells to avoid environmental remediation costs. Small companies buy these wells, produce for a short while, declare bankrupcy, dissolve the company, and abandon these wells to avoid any environmental costs. Thanks to their irresponsible practices, now we call plugging wells a climate solution.

[@aenorist2431]

Those companies have CEOs. CEOs that we can put in prison. If we did that, those practices would stop something rapid.

[@alkasoli4002]

Ohh.. thanks for sharing this information

[@MrPaxio]

completely legal so no biggie. and yes its going to become a problem of the population. instead of going after the companies that do it theyre just gonna tax the end user (us) for the clean up of the process that sells to the end user.

[@wsrtwetr]

No it's thanks to your 3rd world country mentality who believes profit above all else and regulation is limiting your 'freedumb'. What is so different about America compare to China? Not a whole lot when you look at accountability for businesses.

[@foxandk]

@@MrPaxio Plenty of completely legal things are morally reprehensible and cause harm to people. Doesn’t mean no biggie. That’s an ignorant way to look at things. These oil extractors need to be subject to more legislation.

[@shubashuba9209]

These orphans are finally getting the attention they deserve.

[@johndawson6057]

Batman's sulking right now

[@bantuashayder5789]

@@johndawson6057 lol

[@dylandebruyn356]

Yeah but i have my doubt about pluging them, they're only children

[@Rygoat]

There should be some kind of bounty/reward for people who find the super old completely forgotten wells. I'm sure it would get more people reporting in long forgotten stuff that would otherwise be overlooked

[@_R_R_R]

Yeah

[@liveyourdreammedia]

Yeah even if it's just 10$ per well, it must inspire some people to do it full time

[@Rygoat]

@@liveyourdreammedia Since making this comment I've had time to dwell on it, there's a lot of people out there hunting for gold just as a hobby what if the reward was half an ounce of gold. Then the reward would also have its value automatically adjusted over time as the price of gold slowly rises

[@liveyourdreammedia]

@@Rygoat that sounds good honestly. I always find it funny that I find more actual fixes to problems anywhere but in the political and experts realm 😊

[@Yutaro-Yoshii]

this should count as a negative carbon tax (methane can be counted by the equivalent amount of CO2), so big emitting companies can chip in and fund these effort to offset their balance.

[@jaredguadalupeayala7910]

This negligence is horrifying. Thank you to the people taking it upon themselves to fix this problem.

[@randybobandy9828]

Ya.. now think about the neglect in places like China or India 😂 they give no fcks about the environment

[@88corinutza]

WELL....... THEY are getting paid handsomely lmao their not out there for FREE 🤣🤣🤣

[@waddney4121]

@@88corinutza and those precious carbon credits

[@GusCraft460]

The government should set up an orphan well bounty program. If someone finds, records, and reports the location of an orphan well then they should get some kind of monetary reward. You would see people scrambling to find all these wells in no time.

[@codename495]

Smart idea!

[@dave5194]

Good idea!

[@MerkleAkrunphleuphle]

THIS AND PASS BILLS WITH HUGGGGGE FINES AND JAIL TIME FOR THE OWNERS.

[@kerryforyeshua7453]

Brilliant

[@catman5546]

So we tell on our neighbors? Sounds like Russia?

[@bubbleologyresearchinterna7729]

SISTER2 - Standard Instrumentation Suite Truck Enabled for Response - is a 1 ton package we crane into the bed of a hybrid Ford F150 which supplies the 4.2 kW it needs. We can real time measure methane, ethane, and propane helping to fingerprint the gas as from a well as opposed to a cow.

[@charlottemarston2576]

The BRI team is so excited to have been a part of this video!

[@iraleifer9269]

@@charlottemarston2576 It was great fun doing the video with the Business Insider team. Lately, we have been looking at an abandoned oil field to the south of Elk Hills, where all one sees in the flat terrain is dead grass and really really poor condition dirt roads. We had to ruggedize SISTER to deal with the roads there - our roof rack popped off the first time we surveyed on those roads. Emissions from the hundreds of abandoned oil wells was very weak, but we hope to quantify them next week.

[@lokensga]

Response to BRI: Perfect! We need to design a system to capture methane from cows! (Ka-Ching!)

[@dingus153]

Good to see a (former) oil exec actually doing something for the environment for once

[@alien9279]

Probably the first one In History😅

[@sunshine3914]

He’s still making the big bucks.

[@XiaoMof]

@@sunshine3914 Mostly from retirement plans lol, he mostly gets donations to get rid of them.

[@rustyshackle917]

The power of guilt perhaps?

[@mountaineergirl255]

I live in WV and I got curious so I googled a map...turns out there's TWO in my neighborhood - including one not far (less than 100 yds) from an elementary school. I'll be looking very carefully at this map before buying my next home, I'm so glad I saw this video!

[@randybobandy9828]

Why?

[@weenisw]

@@randybobandy9828 heightened cancer risk

[@mahokira504]

Shouldn't you try to give a call to someone to clean them

[@thomasgeorgecastleberry6918]

Oil companies should pay a "plugging fee," before they are allowed to drill. This money should be held by some entity with the drilling permit.

[@Captainkirk88410]

What like a government entity which steal the funds before being used?

[@andremacedo8463]

Oil companies will call that bill "communist" and lobby away from it

[@remingtonyota8145]

Oil companies in Oklahoma already have to put up a 20,000$ plugging bond before they can operate a oil and gas well.

[@MrPaxio]

but that would require constant development and improvement of the process, and we sure as heck do not want that. just ask brandon

[@soulwarrior7721]

Kind of like a Security deposit people have to put down to rent a house or apartment.. Great idea..

[@liampowers8570]

This ended in such a weird way, “some people say we should make oil companies pay for it, but then again we do use cars and planes” is such a bad argument

[@3sty216]

It actually makes more sense for them to clean up after themselves tbh, they have the tools to make the wells and they have the same tools to clean and plug it up. Waste management and cleanup is still in their area of responsibility unless it involves another problem outside of their expertise

[@ignasanchezl]

Like some say and dont like, these cost will be added at the pump. Is that a bad thing? No, it's the price of pollution. Want cheaper energy? Use a cleaner source.

[@liampowers8570]

@@ignasanchezl except this isn’t passed onto the consumer in any way that actually deals with the problem, it’s just going out into the air and killing people and the “consumer” doesn’t even know it’s there

[@alien9279]

Oil companies make INSANE profits. They can afford to do things properly, but actively choose not to, and lo by the gov to prevent change. It's pretty f'ed up.

[@liampowers8570]

@@alien9279 agree, very strange that that was the point the video was going towards until the last moments

[@steven.h0629]

I'm happy to see Curtis and his foundation getting some media exposure.. there's a lot of people out there doing this important work, but as Mary Kang says, 12:06 it's currently not enough. 🤜💥🤛

[@djungelskog3434]

If cement is easily cracked in the event of an earthquake, wouldn't it help to seal the orphan wells with something that has more elasticity like rubber? I'm no expert but I'm just curious

[@rhino6139]

only makes sense if your in a earthquake active place like japan maybe

[@pimme043]

@@rhino6139 I thought some places in the US are also earthquake active

[@serenityinside1]

As he said .. California. Least I was listening 🙄

[@TheLukasDirector]

Would be quite expensive to do so.

[@rhino6139]

@@serenityinside1 cool A+ for you.

[@papwithanhatchet902]

Orphan Wells was a genius. I love his films.

[@hakaase]

Hahaha, love ya

[@ranjitpelia3267]

Can everyone in a state send in a water sample (from their tap) to EPA to be assessed for Methane/Orphan-Well Specific biomarkers. Then those datapoints can be measured over semi-annual periods to regress seasonal vs probable-well exposure increases. This would lead to more documented wells, increase public knowledge, and provide an anonymous, cheap, and sustainable measure of multiple water-related health measures. In another lifetime, I could take this up.

[@Smokie1523]

ehhh, that sounds too much like work... america cant be bothered with its citizens well being and health, theres profit to be made!

[@shanefowkes7451]

Very much like the UK, amongst other country's when the stock markets crash again they will forget this problem again just like some places in the UK still having undocumented black plague graves

[@franwex]

Americans don’t even want to participate in the census.

[@andremacedo8463]

@@shanefowkes7451 black plague graves poses basically no threat anymore lmao

[@MrPaxio]

how about finish what u started and now the population doesnt have to become aware of how crap this whole democratic system is where its now their problem and worry. and it definitely wont be cheap thats not how budgets work for these corporations or taxes. thatd be alot of work just to come to the conclusion that we are polluting everything anyway. the water that comes out of ur tap definitely has alot more funny chemicals than just methane which gasses out of the water anyway depending on so many factors. the carcinogens in the water only have one factor. theyre carcinogens.

[@donnac.1609]

In all fairness the Oil Companies should have capital funds set aside to plug all wells they are done with! There is always a COST to running any business whether it is taxes or payroll or responsibilities for cleanup!! American Oil Companies have shirked their responsibilities on many levels! Time to step up!

[@donnac.1609]

@Bend Over many of the smaller companies went bankrupt and just walked away. I imagine there may still be oil available but for what ever reason the wells are abandoned and pipes left open.

[@donnac.1609]

@Bend Over If the wells are healthy and they can get to them that might be a good idea. The methane they are omitting is tremendous.

[@tengkualiff]

"States dont have the funds to plug em all" Yeah right. Maybe if each politician was on minimum wage they would have plenty of funds!

[@andrewoh2612]

Idk for most people, but for those who work in the transportation and health administration this is a huge step forward. Its nice to know non-profit organizations are contributing to bridge the gap between big oil and big health.

[@ignasanchezl]

As an evromental enthusiast, when i saw that truck packed with sensors I was like "wow holy shit I want one of those"

[@ignasanchezl]

@Bend Over I desire information to acquire knowledge

[@sweet44508]

Nice to know some of them have a conscience

[@dabberdan3200]

Being a Miner I have rules and responsibility to the Government to make sure that I restore the land to it’s original condition. I have bond’s to pay as a financial incentive to make sure that full and complete reclamation happens.Why isn’t this the case with Oil and Gas?!?! I agree a ecological trust must be set up for issues of disaster to the land and Community!

[@randybobandy9828]

It is the case for oil and gas Dan. Miners 100 years ago didn't have those rules and responsibilities to restore the land like you do and the same goes for oil. All these orphan wells are decades old before regulation was enforced. New wells are different

[@nicksurfs1]

It certainly seems like their should be. I know the oil lobby is powerful so they may have gotten a rule book more preferable to them. But getting a bond ahead of time to seal the well when they are done seems like a no brainer.

[@evolburd5768]

@@nicksurfs1 thats exactly how it works now.

[@evolburd5768]

They do seal them up now but back then it was a shit show just like the mining industry. How many superfunds have been set up to deal mining practices that destroyed an area. We grow and develop as a species and its good to know we dont follow those practices anymore.

[@yashasvihaswani8934]

the government should actually donate and support these organisations,that would be real help.

[@milfsncookiesss]

I’ve been in the Inline Inspection/Well Testing sector of the industry for the last 10 years. It’s only marginally better in Alberta. At least through public databases, the surface and downhole locations have records, locations, etc and there are regulations to prevent construction of homes/right of ways/etc if they are within a certain proximity. The OWA doesn’t get enough funding from the current oil companies that pay into the OWA, and the Federal Government’s $120 million they threw in a couple years ago didn’t get much done. Until the price of oil and gas goes back down, a lot of the decomissioning/abandonment/reclamation companies doing the work will be in tougher shape.

[@jamesmihalcik1310]

Look up active gas and oil wells in California. The state owns the orphans, continues to lease deposits, the state made billions over the years. California was built on gas and oil. Look up who owned the leases. Some pretty familiar names.

[@lokensga]

@Bend Over Source of your assertion?

[@tmbchwldt3508]

One wonders how the permit to even drill or run a well isn’t connected to pre-paying a fund to later plug it.

[@presterjohn1697]

Gotta love the western mind. Pollute, destroy, and repeat.

[@tmbchwldt3508]

@@presterjohn1697 even better: privatize earnings, but socialize the cost. In Germany for example we will be paying for „lost profits“ of lignite and nuclear power plants - so much in fact that with the new energy crisis they prefer their plants to be forced to shut off because the payoff is higher than actual profits. Completely perverted.

[@rafaelperalta1676]

@@tmbchwldt3508 we live in such a world. These greedy people make money out of nature and leave the consequences for the others to solve.

[@RDKirbyN]

Cause it simply doesn't make money to clean up after yourself. And when these folks have enough to buy political leverage, they don't have to

[@alexhamon9261]

Especially deep offshore wells, like Taylor Energy's well that was lost in a landslide 10 miles off the Louisiana coast that's been spewing upwards of 29,000 gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico every day nonstop for the last 18 years.

[@peterjarnes25]

Big props to the ones making a difference for the better of the people!

[@winterhorse290]

In offshore production, the company has to post a bond to plug and abandon all wells and remove the platform. This bond follows the lease as long as its producing. The BSEE makes sure that nothing is left.

[@stickynorth]

This is why I laugh so whole-heartedly when I heard the term "responsible oil and gas development"... Like WHEN was that? NEVER!

[@justspacegoatfarts]

don't forget sustainable ,,,,,hahahah

[@bhaumik_09.11]

Sad to think about how much these unsung heros take in those unwanted methane in their system just so that others can live a better life🙂🙂

[@PrimitiveOverland]

I once cracked one of these open as a kid on the iron bridge hunting club in Louisiana. It had a ball valve and I put a lighter to it. One of the dumbest things I’ve ever done 10’ horizontal flame. I’m lucky It just rained.

[@francescocornaggia9560]

Oil companies should be obliged to give a percentege of their huge prifits to fix the problem directly or by funding people like this marvellous people.

[@mikeyKnows_]

Most are from the 1910's - 1930's, there was no regulations back then and they simply walked away when nothing was found. My company (Chevron) were drilling one day then all of a sudden water started coming out about 15 yards away, it was an abandoned well nearby.

[@randybobandy9828]

Too bad half the people crying outrage in the comments don't understand this... they all think that these companies are currently leaving wells like this. Ignorance.

[@mikeyKnows_]

@@randybobandy9828 for real, stupid assumptions

[@GoingtoHecq]

I really kinda want to hook up a generator to one of these.

[@ImTHECarlos98]

Get some free energy? Exactly what I was thinking 😂

[@Billsbob]

Or sell off some to pay for capping later. Either way, seems a lot of untapped potential. No pun intended

[@scottwitkowski1298]

This man is 1 of the few Corporate Executives I don't hate. It's admirable that he choosing to do this with his retirement. Especially considerin the fact that we know he's wealthy.

[@chrissartain4430]

Never knew it was even a Thing. Thank You for understanding this new Disaster.

[@ezrathebigmad]

"But he says we shouldn't just blame the Drillers" Not the workers, but the companies, absolutely. "We live in a society that-" None of the things we, whether we need to or not, use oil to produce has *anything* to do with the profit-motivated practice of just abandoning these things half finished. We can *absolutely* blame, 100%, the previous owner of each well.

[@dc74]

Kudos to the team for the service.

[@mrcroob8563]

I mean the guy is an ex oil exec didn't he also contribute to the issue he is fixing?

[@dc74]

@@mrcroob8563 but at least he's the guts to face it, unlike others.

[@mrcroob8563]

@@dc74 really brave to get rich off of exploitation then later give back a fraction to help undo part of what he did? I would say any average person has done more by doing nothing...

[@dc74]

@@mrcroob8563 🤔😄😄

[@jimbovitikan4848]

Good work on spreading the awareness of this

[@wybuchowyukomendant]

Loving the name, "well done", it says everything.

[@sharonhill2602]

Shame the government can’t tax oil companies and give the money to this guy’s charity

[@uncleandy7983]

The government taxes the hell out of oil companies.......but they don't want to use that money for projects like this.

[@leocrown8627]

one question I have is why on earth did nay sane person let people build on top of an ex oil well that had not been plugged

[@kkirschkk]

a lot of the time people either dont know or assume its something else like an old pipe or a land marker [that also looks like these pipes], or the construction crews discover them and just build over them to not delay construction [which is expensive for them]

[@bubbleologyresearchinterna7729]

Well, in Los Angeles real estate is really expensive and the builder will claim to mitigate. In the bayou, there are a lot of really poor folk. And some people just dont care.

[@elizabethhestevold1340]

Good Work. Men.Thank You.🇺🇸🇩🇰🌷😍🌅🙏⏳

[@stickynorth]

To quote the cinematic classic, Carrie... PLUG IT UP! PLUG IT UP! PLUG IT UP!

[@juliane__]

Without knowing, i can pretend in Germany is no such well left. Actually, we had large scale oil drilling too before the 1950ies but never ever heard of leftover wells. I been to drilling companies in lower saxony, i visited wells. This is a fundamental difference between USA and West Europe i would say.

[@digitalwojtya3669]

The difference is that: Germany is size of one state and definitelly smaller than the biggest states in the US. There are no earthquakes in Germany (at least not like there are in the US). Germany GDP is bigger than that of California, so its safe to say that they can afford to properly close old wells. Also lets not pretend that Germany is an angel of a country and totally perfect (and Im not talking about historic events but rather some regarding energy politics in europe + the fact that they mine ton of brown coal which is one of the worst for the environment)

[@Wreckz_Tea]

Dude... 22lbs an hour of methane escaping!?!? That's bonkers. I've never even used that word before so that's how you know. Look I'm just saying, if oil companies are all good with making major profits from their oil wells then they need to pay the bill when it comes time to call it quits. How is it even legal for companies to just simply profit and then bounce out and leave the problems for someone else to deal with? When you own a business there are bills that must be paid and it's time this become 1 of those. Oil prices are high enough that there is no excuse

[@steph_ann_e]

Thank you!!

[@tammykoble236]

In Alberta Canada, there are now HUNDREDS of thousands of abandoned oil wells here. The government has discovered that Alberta has very hot water from these wells and we can use them for GEO-THERMAL electricity production. They identified 42 towns with a local well that will produce electricity for the whole town - as well as copius amounts of hot water! Just one deep well wil power thousands of homes and then utilize the extra hot water for greenhouses, grain drying or even putting underground pipes under roads and sidewalks to prevent SHOVELLING or ICE on the roads! Some Nordic countries have been doing this for over 60 YEARS! THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL SAVE THE WORLD - I believe that is WHY the oil Industry has SUPPRESSED this technology more than any other.

[@honestlynate7922]

I would be more than willing to take on a job doing this how could I apply?

[@honestlynate7922]

@Bend Over nah, I'm not a felon, I don't need to work in fast food . I have a great job, I'd just be willing to do this instead.

[@Manjunathnswamy]

India also have failed borewell holes ,some children fell and died but still abandoned as open

[@livinglegacy7]

THANK YOU 👏👏👏

[@MrNatronimo]

If anyone is interested in fixing these issues check out Sarah Stogner running for rail road commission in Texas (Rail road commission is in charge of oil and gas in Texas) she’s for domestic production but done properly and environmentally friendly

[@aenorist2431]

Also of course take into state trust funds for every plugging before its ever drilled. That has to just be upfront expense to the company so they can't ever escape it with bankrupcy ... the funds are already with the state, and are only released if the company plugged the well (properly) themselves.

[@codename495]

That wouldn’t work. They would just pay the deposit and never close the well, the. The state would have a backlog of unplugged wells that they are responsible for.

[@e.p5109]

The key thing was he’s reshaping the universe he actually want to exist

[@markhottman2652]

Smart people doing SMARTER THINGS 👍

[@richarddamiano9223]

THIS EXZEC IS A HERO,,HATS OFF TOO YOU

[@rafaelperalta1676]

Nice job, greedy ones.

[@Eusantdac]

Greed is ruining us, everywhere.

[@MAYANKSHARMAwithU]

0:24 This guy can actually smell the methane gas which is an odorless, colorless gas. I think he has real superpower.

[@ignasanchezl]

Probably smelling the sulfur lmao

[@RAVEN_SPRING_]

Honorable work well done man

[@EverythingHR]

Compliance is not about doing what we say, but about making sure that what we do is what people want and need.

[@luifi1369]

Why they dont use the methane as fuel to produce energy ?

[@stickynorth]

Also time to nationalize the oil and gas industry!

[@williambrown8372]

I remember finding one in the woods were going camping with my dad. We threw a match down it and that thing was shutting out fire for days. We used it as a cook stove, worked well with cast iron.

[@yugotime1598]

When people get laid off due to a downturn in production, those same people could continue being employed doing this.

[@aenorist2431]

Shit like that needs criminalisation yesterday. As with every form of corporate terrorism, we need personal liability for the C-suite alongside actually painful damages against the company. 500% of costs as a floor for any judgement would be a good start, kick shareholders in the balls until they fix the issues in their self-interest. Add 30 years prison + a presumption of guilt and suddenly internal controls will magically improve ... at least far enough to demonstrate innocence. If you force everyone involved to try their best, you will get results that match exactly those efforts.

[@MrPaxio]

but america is the land of opportunity, not unopportunity.

[@randomxm-1875]

This Europe your talking about or china when you refuse a order from the CCP?

[@kkirschkk]

one a lot of these wells being abandoned where not the faults of companies [who literally went bankrupt and didnt have the means to plug them], and two the overly large prison sentences and presumption of guilt is illegal and wouldnt pass as it is illegal

[@jadencawley6942]

There should be some sort of mandatory down payment on new oil wells that would cover the cost of plugging the well of it failed

[@oneshotme]

Wow that's a lot of wells!!! Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up for the support of your channel

[@Ash-nb6rj]

Wow very interesting...I had no idea about these wells 😳

[@wallacesouza2678]

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[@montserratherrero782]

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[@Simeonsaater]

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[@marinefernandez3166]

God bless the day i came across your number on KZbin. You are God sent ma'am always remain thankful to you.

[@carolineknudsen5306]

@Anna Jensen Ohhh yeah I have her contact I have been trading with her also

[@carolineknudsen5306]

@Anna Jensen Give her a call, or sms direct

[@DarkGT]

Why not collecting the methane? Sure it contains other mixes of gases, but there is energy being wasted here.

[@ryanwallace983]

Not worth it, it’s not that productive, it’s not really that each orphan well alone is so damaging, it’s the number of them

[@RapTapTap69]

It's kind of like trying to collect the methane from cow farts. Sure it's there. It could be used to make energy but you're getting so little no matter how much money you put into it. Same with gold. There is gold in lots of rivers in the united states and Canada but there's so little that actually panning or sluicing it will never make you any money

[@DarkGT]

@@RapTapTap69 There is a real thing about trying to collect it. I have seen documentary using bags to collect it right from the cow's rear. Also there is a way to collect it from the poop too, and it's a real way to produce methane.

[@RapTapTap69]

@@DarkGT I know. That's why I used it as an example. The investments are massive but the actual results are abysmal.

[@bubbleologyresearchinterna7729]

@@RapTapTap69 There are a lot of lower hanging fruit with more bang for the buck to collect first. Orphan wells are way way down the list (amounts are too small)

[@axeltie2298]

This is absolutely unreal - I hadn't properly understood the extent of domestic oil extraction of the USA until I saw this.

[@williamchurchill3174]

Brilliant video. A source of greenhouse gases I have not seen before.

[@elluisito000]

This is a well researched video.

[@Bryan-ks6cw]

well done I would say

[@ObesePuppies]

I don’t think it is, the guy “plugging” the wells is a retired oil exec. So that’s a huge red flag, but they just brush it off by making it seem like he’s somehow redeeming himself now 🤔 they should investigate his “nonprofit “ because it just has the signs of a scam, “retired oil exec” pshh. Come on

[@elluisito000]

@@ObesePuppies well... that is a good observation

[@davidt6849]

Wish I had one of those orphan wells that leak 22lbs of methane an hour in my yard. Free gas... At these prices...

[@galaxius1884]

You... do know Methane and Gasoline aren't the same things right?

[@davidt6849]

@@galaxius1884 i do, methane is natural gas... Which the world outside the US (yes there is a whole world out there) calls gas, only Americans (which 95 percent of the world is not) call gasoline/petrol gas..

[@doughahn9263]

Good for you guys. Thanks

[@katherinekinnaird4408]

I live in Bakersfield California and we have this issue all over our County. Just this week it was in the news again

[@mollielacey7428]

I love how many environmental videos complain about emissions from regular old cars. meanwhile, huge business gets to do shit like this!

[@kenny4427]

@business insider is it impossible to seal the well if you use some sort of rubber \ rubber infused \ e poxy or resin material or flexible material to seal the well im sure if their is some flex in the seal it can handle an earthquake

[@darkmann12]

i don't think epoxy would be quite concordant with the goals of this foundation... made from organics and toxic to nature

[@costcorotisseriechicken2520]

Problem is polymers tend to be soluble in the hydrocarbons like you may find in oil wells, so the plugs may dissolve, or toxic compounds may be able to diffuse into the plug or even break it down.

[@kkirschkk]

the issue as well [other than hydrocarbons dissolving the rubbers and resins] is that these materials are not THAT flexiable and will still wear out and degrade over time, IE leading to the same issue.

[@bubbleologyresearchinterna7729]

THe problem is if the earth moves (and wells are often drilled through faults as that is where the oil is) then the well will break deep underground and the seal will not be sealing anymore. The Treadwell Well off Summerland has been sealed three times (just recently for a fourth at great taxpayer expense and it will just leak again in another decade - it crosses the Ortega Fault.

[@juanbait9670]

First off those things have simular compounds the crude oil will break them down, secondly the pipes will rust and leak anyways. This is just a feel good solution, its a bandaid on a bullet wound. The better solution is finding a way to convert the methane into something else, whats left after burning methane? Hydrogen and carbon i assume.

[@fernandofierro7958]

That driving around doing that is cool

[@e.p5109]

Brooo love these guys

[@aburr1537]

Man our parents have failed us...

[@littlecoloreddots]

Anybody assessing if any of these old wells could be converted to geothermal generators? They go pretty deep.

[@JasonDBike]

Or just harvest the methane, use the available structure for anything. Plugging sounds real dumb

[@galaxius1884]

You can't just convert any deep hole in the ground into a geothermal generator, it depends on the geography. If there was oil its very unlikely they would be a geothermal vent there. There are very few places you can have geothermal vents.

[@galaxius1884]

@@JasonDBike methane isn't the only gas being released, its way less efficient to seperate all the gases out than just using bio-methane.

[@iraleifer9269]

@@galaxius1884 very true

[@TheGlassman14]

I read that as "Plugging Orson Wells" 😂

[@jessicahaynes5614]

His nonprofits name is just the perfect pun ever

[@quintonb9908]

actually incredibly sad this isn't already fixed by the people who drill these wells, no regard for anyones safety at all

[@bucksnortbumblefuk6872]

Not the workers, but the company. And I'll tell ya why. Money. It's all about money

[@randybobandy9828]

It is already fixed you fool... these are all wells that are decades old before environmental regulation.

[@kabangukabangu2529]

If I found one on my property, I'll build a system to collect and store the methane

[@lokensga]

How much would that cost? How would you sell it, assuming that it produces more than you can use? What's your breakeven level of production? How many years of production can one get out of an abandoned well?

[@oursalvationisinunity6224]

This forum should watch every person on the planet! On May 7, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. GMT there was an international online forum: Global Crisis. We are People, We want to live. This is a super forum that touches everyone! Participants from 180 countries translated it into 100 languages!

[@michaelmelancon2633]

Just commenting to give this video a boost in the algorithm, I never even thought about something like this.

[@3pAcsJs]

Growing up in rural western Pennsylvania I've seen so many old pipes just like these sticking up out of the ground. Always wondered what they were. I've seen them in parks, backyards, protected wildlife areas. Oil industry suckss

[@alien9279]

If you know of locations,please report them! Tracking them down and finding them is a huge issue as stated in the video:)

[@nicksurfs1]

@@alien9279 where do we report them? I know of like 20 between Missouri and Kansas. I’d be happy to report them if I knew the centralized place.

[@peteryvr3329]

Finally an oil executive doing the right thing for environment. Sadly we need more payback from the oil industry as there are still many orphan wells around the world especially with corrupted governments.

[@circusboy90210]

opinion

[@petenorth8245]

This man is a hero