35 Orphan Wells, Fugitive Hydrocarbons, and a Legacy of Efforts Toward a Brighter Future

Sunday, 30 March 2025
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
130AB

PART 1 CAMERON ENERGY COMPANY, AN INDUSTRY CASE STUDY: FINDING THE LEGACY; ORPHAN WELL HISTORY and LOCATION IN NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA

Paper number: 35-4
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 9:00 AM – 9:20 AM

Authors

Abstract

Colonel Edwin L. Drake initiated the first oil boom when he drilled “Drake Well”, the world’s first ever oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania 1859. Hundreds of thousands of wells were drilled in those early decades. Those wells powered The Industrial Revolution, helped win two World Wars and shaped modern society. Over a century later, decay and abandonment have taken their toll, making these “Legacy Orphan Wells” difficult to locate. To field verify a well’s location a multi-step approach is taken. First, online mapping resources are reviewed through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP). Second, a desktop review of the 1950’s/60’s Pennsylvania Geological Survey map. Third, a digitized map and possible well locations are loaded on a handheld sub-meter GPS. Last, field mapping and verification occur by scouring the area by foot. The field verification can take several days depending on key factors such as access, terrain, land use and well condition. Once the well’s location is confirmed, an Orphan Application (Form # 8000-PM-OOGM0077) is completed and submitted to PA DEP. Through my work at Cameron Energy Company, I have successfully located and submitted orphan applications on hundreds of wells in Warren and Forest Counties since 2016. In order to properly plug and abandon these original legacy wells we have to first locate as many as possible.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 3

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025NE-408080

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