Report: Abandoned Gas Wells Are A Growing Problem For W.Va.

A new report finds abandoned oil and gas wells in West Virginia are a bigger problem than most people realize.  

The report, from the Ohio River Valley Institute, an independent think tank with a focus on clean energy, says there are tens of thousands of abandoned or orphaned gas wells in the state that have gone uncounted.  

A database maintained by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Office of Oil and Gas lists roughly 16,000 abandoned wells, including about 4,500 orphaned wells without a known or solvent operator.  

In contrast, the report says there are more than 50,000 abandoned wells in the state.  

Abandoned wells pose a high pollution risk as they are likely to leak harmful gases, such as methane and volatile organic compounds as they deteriorate. 

The Ohio River Valley Institute recommends a production fee on oil and gas to fund the closure of the abandoned wells and employ thousands of West Virginians to do the work.  

The report says, “Remaining funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law could decommission 1,393 orphaned wells through 2031, supporting an estimated 810 total job-years, according to IMPLAN modeling.  

“Decommissioning an additional 4,000 orphaned wells from 2032 to 2041 would create more than 2,000 job-years, or 207 jobs per year over the 10-year period. These jobs could help employ hundreds of oil and gas workers who have lost their jobs over the last several years as the drilling boom has subsided.” 

Another problem, according to the report, is that the state does not employ enough inspectors to do the job. In 2023, the state conducted fewer than 6,000 well inspections, just a third of the number of inspections in 1985. 

Read the summary from the Ohio River Valley Institute below:

Download the full report here.