Research

Webinar will examine estimating the number of abandoned oil and gas wells

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — What is a reasonable estimate of abandoned natural gas wells in Pennsylvania? That will be the focus of a web-based seminar to be presented by Penn State Extension.

The presentation, from 1 to 2 p.m. on Nov. 15, will feature Terry Engelder, professor emeritus, Penn State Department of Geosciences, who will discuss research on determining the number of abandoned wells in Pennsylvania. The webinar also will discuss assessing the effects these wells may have on the atmosphere.

Studies estimate there are more than 3 million abandoned gas wells in the United States and up to 750,000 in Pennsylvania alone, Engelder noted. Questions have arisen about how much methane abandoned wells contribute to the atmosphere, he said, as discussion on methane leakage from unconventional well development vs. carbon dioxide release from coal-fired power plants continues.

While free, registration for the webinar is necessary. Online registration is available at the website. For more information, contact Carol Loveland at 570-320-4429 or by email at cal24@psu.edu.

Penn State Extension's Marcellus Education Team provides monthly webinars on a variety of topics. Upcoming webinars include the following:

— Dec. 14: "The SEDA-COG Natural Gas Cooperative: A New Regional Approach," presented by Don Kiel, executive director and secretary, SEDA-COG Natural Gas Cooperative Inc.

— Jan. 18: "Geologic Options for Subsurface Storage of Utica-Marcellus NGLs," presented by Douglas Patchen, director of the resource extraction division, National Research Center for Coal and Energy; and Brian Anderson, director, WVU Energy Institute, both with West Virginia University.

— Feb. 15: "The Value of Strong Stakeholder Engagement," presented by Thomas Murphy, director, Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research.

— March 15: "Development and Field Testing Novel Natural Gas Surface Process Equipment for Replacement of Water as a Primary Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid," presented by Griffin Beck, research engineer, Propulsion and Energy Machinery, Southwest Research Institute.

Recorded webinars, publications and information also are available on the Penn State Extension natural-gas website, covering topics such as liquid natural gas; global gas markets; methane emissions; water use and quality; Marcellus and Utica basins; natural gas reserves; gas-leasing considerations for landowners; and legal issues surrounding gas development.

Studies estimate there are more than 3 million abandoned gas wells in the United States and up to 750,000 in Pennsylvania alone. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated November 9, 2017

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