Pa. DEP to study petitions seeking to raise oil and gas bonds to cover the full cost of plugging wells
Friday, November 26, 2021
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is set to study petitions seeking to raise oil and gas bonds, requiring oil and gas well owners to set aside the full cost of plugging their wells, according to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The environmental groups that introduced the petitions say the increases are necessary to protect the state and its taxpayers from having to bear the mounting cleanup costs and environmental damages when companies abandon wells.
The petitions would raise bond rates for shale wells and traditional wells that were drilled since 1985 to the full costs of plugging the particular type of well. According to the petitioners, the cost of plugging and reclaiming a conventional oil and gas well is $38,000 and a Marcellus shale well is $83,000.
Pennsylvania’s current bond rate for conventional wells is $2,500 per well or a blanket bond of $25,000 to cover all of a company’s wells. The current bond rates for shale wells depend on the length of the well bore and the number of wells covered under a blanket bond, but amount to $10,000 or less per well.
Wells drilled before 1984 don’t require a bond.
Learn more: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette > Pa. DEP to study raising oil and gas well plugging bonds
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Shale FAQ
What is fracking?
Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
Is it safe?
What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
Will my water catch on fire?
Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.