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Emissions of coalbed and natural gas methane from abandoned oil and gas wells in the United States
Author(s) -
TownsendSmall Amy,
Ferrara Thomas W.,
Lyon David R.,
Fries Anastasia E.,
Lamb Brian K.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl067623
Subject(s) - coalbed methane , natural gas , methane , fossil fuel , environmental science , methane emissions , geology , isotopes of carbon , petroleum engineering , hydrology (agriculture) , isotope , coal , coal mining , waste management , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering , physics , geotechnical engineering , quantum mechanics
Recent work indicates that oil and gas methane (CH 4 ) inventories for the United States are underestimated. Here we present results from direct measurements of CH 4 emissions from 138 abandoned oil and gas wells, a source currently missing from inventories. Most abandoned wells do not emit CH 4 , but 6.5% of wells had measurable CH 4 emissions. Twenty‐five percent of wells we visited that had not been plugged emitted > 5 g CH 4 h −1 . Stable isotopes indicate that wells emit natural gas and/or coalbed CH 4. We estimate that abandoned wells make a small contribution (<1%) to regional CH 4 emissions in our study areas. Additional data are needed to accurately determine the contribution of abandoned wells to national CH 4 budgets, particularly measurements in other basins and better characterization of the abundance and regional distribution of high emitters.