[wigl]

Used to be in the oil and gas space. One of the biggest issues with orphaned wells is that local enforcement is so comically lax.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/11/orphaned-oil-wells-...

For example, the article says PA has 200k abandoned wells, but the number is likely 500k-750k, according to Mary Kang's work. https://www.pnas.org/content/113/48/13636

Why you ask? There is NO required security for unconventional wells (most wells on the Marcellus) and only $25k required as a blanket security. You bet that that's going to be factored into the P/L. Abandoned wells are defined by the fact that there is no existing LLC left on the title.

http://iogcc.ok.gov/Websites/iogcc/images/Publications/2019%...

>"The average cost per well ranged from $3,700 to $101,000, with most in the $10,000 to $80,000 range. The overall average for the states is $18,940."

What if you own a bunch of stripper wells like in PA? Well when they only produce <15bbl a day each for a short life time, why bother when you can dissolve eventually and start anew? If the PA DEP's permit surcharge is only $50-200, do you really think they'll make any progress?

[fghorow]

I've heard some stories about abandoned PA wells too. One version claimed that tens (hundreds?) of thousands were from the late 1800s to early 1900s, with old records lost. That means people do NOT know where they are. That always struck me as an opportunity for some enterprising remote sensing co. (even one formed by HN readers, hint hint!) to step into the breach and find them. You can't remediate it, if you don't know where it is.