Pathways to mitigating methane emissions from inactive oil and gas wells

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Methane emissions from the 400,000 non-producing oil and gas wells in Canada have been found to be 150% higher than previously estimated. To fill critical gaps in currently available measurement datasets, we propose to conduct quantitative assessments of non-producing oil and gas wells in Canada through direct measurements of methane emissions from wells in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. We will also develop improved measurement systems that can be used to quantify temporal variations and to provide infrastructure-specific and geochemical information necessary for developing mitigation strategies. The primary option for reducing methane emissions from non-producing wells is plugging, as specified in government regulations. However, plugging can be expensive. Therefore, there is a need to understand existing pathways and explore alternate mitigation pathways, such as geothermal. We will evaluate the potential to repurpose the wells for geothermal development and using our measurement data, analyze the costs and benefits of the two mitigation pathways - well plugging and repurposing non-producing for geothermal energy production. The proposal responds to the call's goal of building scientific capacity in earth system climate science, atmospheric monitoring, and economic analysis to understand GHG emissions at the regional and national scales and over time and to inform GHG mitigation opportunities, as methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Our measurements will contribute to understanding methane emissions from non-producing wells at regional and national scales and over time. Our techno-economic analysis of geothermal development potential and well plugging will facilitate the inclusion of non-producing oil and gas wells in GHG mitigation strategies. The partners on this proposal are the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada (PTAC), Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Alberta Energy Regulator.