Geoff Gordon-Creed of the Well Done Foundation joined Jason Spiess on The Crude Life and KLXX 1270AM’s Talk of the Town with Steve Bakken to discuss orphan wells, his recent presentation at COP27 and what’s next for for the non profit in 2023.
Gordon-Creed starts off the interview by discussing what the Well Done Foundation is and what orphan wells are.
The Well Done Foundations, founded in 2019, builds partnerships between regulators, owners and adoptive parties to plug “orphan” oil & gas wells. The non-profit is based in Montana but is also building capacity in Pennsylvania, Louisiana and several other states.
“Orphaned” wells are those for which no former owner or operator can be located, while the term “abandoned well” typically refers to an unproductive well with a known owner/operator. In either case, the wells remain uncapped.
Gordon-Creed also shared a story about an orphan well last year that the industry in Ohio located next to a senior living home.
Working with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Cleveland Fire Department, management of Franciscan Village and Moore Well Services the collective group of people and organizations banded together to plug the orphan well.
There may have been more than an orphan well discovered too. Gordon-Creed explains how state records show the well had been drilled more than a century ago to extract natural gas, but was plugged in the 1950s with a substance called fire clay.
“This was the industry standard at the time,” Gordon-Creed said. “However what they found was that what was commonly used by the industry at the time, had cracked and shrunk over time.”
Gordon-Creed explained how many orphan wells from the early 1900’s were capped with rocks, landfill and wood casings.
“Wood was the industry standard then,” Gordon-Creed said. “You would be shocked at the things we have found used to cap wells from centuries ago.”
Bakken shared a story about how he heard stories of plywood used to “cap” a well hole with a rock put on top to hold down the board, then in the spring when it was time to “pick rocks” the kids just piled the rocks on top of the board and rock.
“You see those rock piles next to a field that are 100-years old. How many rock piles out there have a well underneath?” Bakken asked.
Spiess pontificated if there was an E.T. Atari cartridges or Honda 3-Wheelers used to cap well because landfills are littered with them.
Gordon-Creed said the Well Done Foundation is going to continue more of the same with more energy education and carbon awareness.
Earlier this year, the Well Done Foundation entered into a partnership with Newlight, which is a biotechnology company producing advanced sustainable materials.
Over 10 years of research and development, Newlight developed a biotechnological process to harness microorganisms found in the ocean to convert greenhouse gas into a meltable energy material found in all living things: a naturally-occurring, biocompatible material that can be used to make fibers and solid parts, and help reduce the flow of carbon and synthetic plastic into the environment.
Following commercialization in 2013, AirCarbon was named “Biomaterial of the Year” by the Nova Institute in 2013, “one of the 100 most technologically significant innovations of the year” by R&D Magazine in 2013, and “Innovation of the Year” by Popular Science in 2014, and received the prestigious EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge award in 2016. Today, Newlight is focused on growth through both internal and licensed production to help fulfill the company’s mission: to protect and improve life by accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable, regenerative materials.
This partnership continues the momentum of corporate sponsors helping plug orphan wells across America. Texas-based distillery Tito’s Handmade Vodka and the Felty Family Challenge recently funded the non-profit’s first well-plugging project of 2022. The well, known as Fenner #2, was installed near Caddo Lake on the Louisiana/Texas border in 1985, and abandoned in 2017.
According to the Well Done Foundation website, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates there are 2.5 million unplugged abandoned wells in the United States. That includes 31 states, emitting 7.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year. They say that is equal to 798 million gallons of gasoline used, 1.54 million passenger vehicles for a year, or 7.85 billion pounds of coal burned.
For more information, or to contribute or sponsor a well plugging project, visit welldonefoundation.org.
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