Dr. Amy Townsend-Small, professor of environmental science at the UC School of Environment and Sustainability (SEaS), and PEWS Faculty Affiliate, recently joined a panel of experts to discuss the environmental impacts of “orphaned” oil and gas wells, and what goes into the solutions to mitigating those impacts.
Ideally, when an oil and gas well is no longer producing enough to be profitable, the owner of the well will shut down its operation, dismantle equipment and plug the well borehole. That well is then considered abandoned. Different jurisdictions have varying requirements for plugging an abandoned well, but, in general, the requirements are intended to protect the health and safety of the environment and people in the vicinity of the well from hazards associated with crude oil and natural gas leaks. In some cases, the party responsible for completing the steps to properly abandon a well cannot be identified. These wells remain in a potentially hazardous, uncapped state with no party responsible for rectifying them. These are known as “orphaned wells”.
In a panel discussion hosted by SciLine, Dr. Townsend-Small shared some of her expertise on oil and gas wells, how they contribute methane, as well as other pollutants, to the environment, and the unique challenges involved in remediating the impacts of orphaned and abandoned wells. To see Dr. Townsend-Small’s full presentation and the rest of the panel discussion, watch the recording on SciLine’s website.
SciLine is a service created by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) that connects journalists to experts in a wide range of scientific fields. The goal of the service is to “enhance the amount and quality of scientific evidence in news stories” by connecting journalists directly with experts on the topics that they are reporting. Anyone with scientific expertise in a subject can join SciLine’s expert matching system and get connected to journalists. Scientists can also submit tips to SciLine that interested journalists can view to find new stories to report.
As well as hosting panels and connecting scientists with journalists, SciLine offers media training for scientists to help them make their communication with the media more effective. PEWS is excited to be hosting a SciLine Media Training session on Monday April 29th from 9am – 4pm. This training will be hosted in person on UC’s campus and is free to attend. The registration form to attend can be found here (space is limited).
Along with sharing her research through media outreach, PEWS Faculty Affiliate Dr. Townsend-Small teaches the next generation of environmental scientists as a professor in UC’s newly launched School of Environment and Sustainability Studies (SEaS).
SEaS is a program dedicated to understanding and solving environmental challenges and was created due to demand from UC students and faculty for a program focusing on the many such challenges the world faces. They currently offer bachelor’s degrees in environmental studies along with two Minor options. The department has plans to expand its offerings and eventually offer graduate degrees as the program expands. To learn more, check out the SEaS website.