Zombie Oil Wells: The Ticking Time Bomb Beneath Our Feet

We need to talk about the ticking time bomb that’s lying beneath our soil: zombie oil wells. 

The Rusting Relics of America’s Oil Boom

Millions of old oil and gas wells are scattered across the U.S., not producing energy anymore but instead leaking dangerous chemicals into the environment.

An Environmental Nightmare in the Making

These rusty relics could become an environmental nightmare if left unchecked.

Decades of Drilling, Years of Neglect

The U.S. has drilled for oil and gas for decades without much thought about what would happen to those wells when they ran dry. Now, we’re paying the price. 

Toxic Cocktails

These abandoned wells (often called orphan wells) are spewing toxic gasses like methane and contaminating groundwater with dangerous chemicals like radium and boron. 

Who Foots the Bill?

They’re also creating sinkholes and rusting away – causing all sorts of other environmental headaches. The worst part is that many of these old, disused wells don’t even have an owner anymore – meaning the government is stuck with the cleanup.

The $280 Billion Problem

According to environmental watchdog Carbon Tracker, there are around 2.6 million documented onshore wells in need of sealing – a huge and expensive undertaking. In fact, cleaning up these wells is estimated to cost around $280 billion. 

Biden’s Drop in the Bucket

That’s a long way off the $4.7 billion that the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has allocated toward cleanup.

A Crisis Bigger Than Our Current Solutions

It’s a problem that’s going to take way more time, money, and effort to fix than we’re currently putting in.

Ground Zero for the Zombie Well Apocalypse

Take Texas, for example. It’s ground zero for this crisis, with its long history of oil production. The state’s wells are not just sitting quietly underground – many are roaring back to life with catastrophic consequences. 

When “Sealed” Wells Spring Back to Life

Wells that were supposedly sealed are bursting open again, spilling toxic chemicals all over the place. These “zombie wells” could soon become a huge issue for everyone in the U.S. if nothing is done.

Geysers of Toxic Sludge

The situation has gotten so bad that in West Texas, some of these old wells have even started spewing geysers of toxic sludge water. 

Fracking

But what’s behind the night of the living oil spills? Well it’s likely linked to the state’s fracking boom. When companies frack for oil and gas, they generate massive amounts of wastewater (which is loaded with toxic chemicals), which they then pump back into the ground. 

The Underground Pressure Cooker

If they pump it too deep, they risk triggering earthquakes. If they don’t go deep enough, the pressure underground builds up, and old wells start leaking – or worse, blowing their toxic contents to the surface.

The Texas Railroad Commission

You’d think that the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC), which oversees oil and gas operations in the state, would be all over this issue, but they’re actually downplaying the problem. A spokesperson said, “There is little evidence of a widespread occurrence of previously plugged wells leaking.”

Asleep At The Wheel?

Despite this claim, their own actions paint a different picture. In 2022, Texas received $25 million from the federal government to address these orphan wells, followed by an additional $80 million this year. This money comes with strings attached, as the RRC must measure the methane and other gases leaking from these wells before and after they’re plugged.

A $481 Million Estimate

The RRC estimates it will need over $481 million to tackle the issue, but with thousands of wells undocumented and unaddressed, even this figure might be an underestimate. Who knows how many more are just waiting to blow?

Texas’s Toxic Legacy

The reality is that Texas’s legacy of oil drilling has left behind a huge mess, one that neither the state nor the federal government is fully equipped to handle.

EPA Steps In

The RRC is facing increased scrutiny as reports of these burst wells come in far and wide. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has noticed the mess and is starting to investigate whether the RRC should even be allowed to oversee the disposal of this toxic wastewater anymore. 

Is the RRC Up to the Task?

There’s a lot of pressure mounting, and environmental groups are calling for more accountability and action.

The Clock is Ticking

The situation is pretty dire. If the government and the RRC don’t ramp up efforts to deal with them, the consequences could be massive – not just for Texas but for the entire country. 

The longer they wait to address it, the worse it’s going to get.

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Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Peter A. Herzog.

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