Texas’ inventory of 12,300 orphan oil and gas wells — with no solvent owner to clean them up — is part of a broader inventory of more than 120,000 inactive oil and gas wells across the state. The wells have been called a $17 billion environmental and financial time bomb.
This summer, students from Texas Christian University’s Ralph Lowe Energy Institute are working alongside the Texas General Land Office on the issue. The GLO has 635 orphan wells across the 10 Railroad Commission districts at a cost of more than $47 million, according to the Inactive Well Aging Report. That includes 272 wells in Railroad Commission District 8 at an Inactive Well Aging Report cost of nearly $39 million.
The students recently traveled to Corpus Christi Bay, spending three days studying shallow water infrastructure, touring facilities, reviewing operational data and meeting with those responsible for managing the GLO’s 186 orphan wells in Corpus Christi.
The goal is to help the GLO evaluate its portfolio and prioritize orphan wells most in need of abandonment and remediation, said Nikki Morris, executive director of TCU’s Ralph Lowe Energy Institute.
Morris said the students will be visiting other orphan well sites, including in West Texas, this summer.
The project began last year, when students worked with RHR Oil & Gas to address 100 wells in the company’s portfolio.
“We focus on economic upside,” she told the Reporter-Telegram.
The students will not only survey environmental damage and evaluate risk but also help build financial models, business cases and frameworks the state needs to fast-track cleanup efforts.
Ashley Titus, associate director, said Texas should look at and learn from how other states address their orphan well issues.
She sees opportunities for collaboration in carbon markets and in repurposing wells for other uses.
“You have to come back to policies, what makes the biggest impact,” Titus said.
The state plugs approximately 1,000 orphan wells each year, but wells continue to be added to the list. The key is to put policies in place that regulators and industry can control to prevent new wells from joining the list, the two women said.