Pennsylvania has hundreds of thousands of abandoned natural gas wells like this one. (Image credit: Rob Jackson)
New research finds far more abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania than previously thought and provides a framework for identifying wells across the United States and globally that are the worst methane leakers. A small percentage of abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania produces the vast majority of the state's methane emissions, according to Stanford and Princeton scientists and their colleagues. The work in Pennsylvania, which has the longest history of oil and gas development in the United States, could help scientists learn how to identify and fix high emitting wells nationwide. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , is the largest study of high methane-emitting abandoned oil and gas wells in the state, which has oil and gas infrastructure dating back to 1859. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is about 30 times more effective at trapping solar heat over a 100-year period compared to carbon dioxide. 'Our findings will help states prioritize where to spend their money and find the highest-emitting wells more easily,' said study co-author Rob Jackson , the Michelle and Kevin Douglas Provostial Professor at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. 'If you want to reduce climate change quickly, methane provides a great opportunity.' - Poor record-keeping.
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