Crediting emissions saved in plugging oil and gas wells

Avoided emissions could be credited as carbon offsets and sold on exchanges

Funds totalling $21bn have been allocated in the US’ recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to clean up former industrial and energy sites, including properly retiring some of the estimated 2mn of unplugged abandoned oil and gas (O&G) wells in the US. Those funds can be stretched further if the avoided methane is credited as carbon offsets and sold on carbon exchanges. Using a reference well from Pennsylvania and recent carbon offset pricing from one voluntary exchange, such a system of credits could generate 10-15pc of the well’s estimated plugging cost. Unplugged abandoned wells collectively are modest relative emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs), contributing less than