Effective permeabilities of abandoned oil and gas wells: analysis of data from Pennsylvania

Environmental Science & Technology
Mary KangMichael A Celia

Abstract

Abandoned oil and gas (AOG) wells can provide pathways for subsurface fluid migration, which can lead to groundwater contamination and gas emissions to the atmosphere. Little is known about the millions of AOG wells in the U.S. and abroad. Recently, we acquired data on methane emissions from 42 plugged and unplugged AOG wells in five different counties across western Pennsylvania. We used historical documents to estimate well depths and used these depths with the emissions data to estimate the wells' effective permeabilities, which capture the combined effects of all leakage pathways within and around the wellbores. We find effective permeabilities to range from 10(-6) to 10(2) millidarcies, which are within the range of previous estimates. The effective permeability data presented here provide perspective on older AOG wells and are valuable when considering the leakage potential of AOG wells in a wide range of applications, including geologic storage of carbon dioxide, natural gas storage, and oil and gas development.

References

Feb 28, 2009·Environmental Science & Technology·Jan M NordbottenStefan Bachu
Dec 10, 2014·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Mary KangTullis C Onstott

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Citations

Jan 30, 2016·The Science of the Total Environment·I M BoothroydR J Davies
Dec 3, 2015·The Science of the Total Environment·George PrpichEdward J Anthony
Jun 30, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Mary Kang, Robert B Jackson
Nov 17, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Mary KangRobert B Jackson
Mar 14, 2018·Environmental Science & Technology·Jacqueline S HoAlan J Krupnick

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