Thousands of old oil wells unchecked

More news has surfaced (no pun intended) about oil drilling in the gulf -- there are thousands of old, closed-up wells in the gulf that no one ever checks up on. Could they be leaking?

  • The oldest of these wells were abandoned in the 1940s

  • 3,500 of the wells are "temporarily abandoned," which means that oil companies are supposed either present plans to reuse them or plug them permanently within a year of the "temporary" stoppage.
  • Apparently, this rule is often broken- by about 75% of the wells, some still lacking a permanent plug since the 1950s and 60s.
  • More than 1,000 wells have remained in that unfinished condition for more than ten years.
  • Even wells that were once sealed perfectly could have been disturbed by geological activity over the course of many years.
  • When BP's Deepwater Horizon blew up in April, it was in the process of being sealed for temporary abandonment.

    • The bottom line is that no one knows whether or not any of these wells are leaking. There have been many concerns about the security of the wells' seals expressed over the course of many years. Those concerns have either been refuted or ignored. Neither companies nor any government body is officially responsible for checking up on them.

    What can you do?

    Even if you can't strap on your scuba gear and start inspecting these wells for yourself, you can help heal the harm in the gulf that everyone knows about.

    Start a letter writing campaign to let a state official know what you think should be done about this issue. States can regulate oil and gas drilling, too.

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    Comments

    Lealyza says:

    I know that the BP oil spill is ruining the gulf of mexico but the government should keep their eyes on all of the oil companies.

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