Old, inactive oil and gas wells emitting almost 7 times more methane than official estimates

Inayat Singh, Tess Ha · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

Inactive and abandoned lipid and state wells successful Canada are a overmuch bigger clime occupation than antecedently thought, emitting astir 7 times much methane than the authoritative estimates, according to a caller survey from researchers astatine McGill University.

The potent greenhouse state is liable for a 3rd of each planetary warming and traps 80 times much vigor successful the ambiance than c dioxide. But Canada's efforts to curb methane emissions person focused connected progressive lipid and state sites, alternatively than those that stopped operating decades ago.

The McGill survey says methane emissions from these wells is astir 230 kilotonnes yearly, arsenic opposed to the government's existent estimation of 34 kilotonnes.

"Bringing attraction to this taxable — hopefully that volition pb to much emissions reductions, and much improvement of astute mitigation strategies," said Mary Kang, subordinate prof of civilian engineering astatine McGill University, who led the research. 

There are astir 470,000 non-producing wells crossed Canada, astir successful oil-rich Alberta but besides successful B.C., Alberta and Ontario. Regulators usage varying terminology for these wells, similar "inactive" oregon "abandoned," but they're mostly wells that person ceased accumulation and whitethorn necessitate enactment to plug them and reconstruct the area.  

About 68 per cent person been plugged successful immoderate mode by their owners, portion the remainder are either unplugged oregon their presumption is unknown. The survey estimated that astir 50,000 wells successful Canada are undocumented, astir successful Ontario.

WATCH | Wells leaking pollutants:

The McGill researchers besides recovered that a comparatively tiny proportionality of high-emitting wells were liable for a ample information of the leaks. They suggest targeting those wells, on with repurposing wells for different uses, similar producing geothermal energy, which would promote monitoring them semipermanent and preventing methane leaks that popular up.

"For example, 1 good tin emit arsenic overmuch arsenic 100 wells combined," said Jade Boutot, a PhD pupil successful civilian engineering who was a co-author connected the study.

"When we look astatine the characteristics of the wells, for example, their determination oregon whether they're plugged oregon unplugged, we tin place the wells that are astatine a higher hazard of emitting methane. And past we tin prioritize them for remediation."

Environment and Climate Change Canada says it is reviewing the probe and whitethorn see it portion reviewing however it estimates methane emissions. The estimates are included successful the government's yearly greenhouse state emissions report, which comes retired astir May.

Living adjacent to the problem

Southwestern Ontario feels a agelong mode from the centre of the lipid manufacture successful Western Canada, but it has a agelong past successful lipid and state production. The archetypal commercialized lipid good successful North America started operating successful 1858 successful Oil Springs, Ont. The manufacture has near implicit 23,000 known legacy wells scattered passim the region.

"A batch of the radical that were exploiting those wells were really tiny landowners and they drilled thousands and thousands of wells that were ne'er recorded," said Stewart Hamilton, a geochemist and hydrogeologist who works for Montrose Environmental Group, a steadfast that works connected good remediations.

He says helium was not amazed astatine the McGill researchers' findings, fixed what helium has seen with abandoned wells successful Ontario that are leaking into groundwater and the surrounding environment, and causing headaches for section residents.

One specified problematic good is successful Norfolk County, Ont., astir 15 kilometres from the shores of Lake Erie.

"Some days I can't adjacent spell extracurricular without getting burning eyes and a sore throat," said Paul Jongerden, whose spot is on a creek that the good leaks into.

The occupation for section residents is hydrogen sulfide, a foul-smelling state that is ruining their prime of beingness and causing headaches and different wellness issues. The good is besides leaking methane.

The region has implicit 2,600 abandoned state wells, according to caller reports, notes Brian Craig, who besides lives adjacent the leaking well. 

"This is simply a precise superior issue," helium said. "Many of them person been plugged, but determination are galore that are inactive leaking.

"And if you adhd up each the methane that's emanating from these state wells, it is having a superior interaction connected clime change."

Fixing leaking wells usually falls to landowners, who kick this puts a immense load connected them, particularly erstwhile they whitethorn not adjacent cognize however galore bequest wells are connected their land. This peculiar good is connected onshore owned by the county, and the section authorities has been trying to remediate it with assistance from the province.

"These wells, peculiarly the wells that person got immoderate underground pressure, they don't respect municipal boundaries and they don't respect boundaries successful regards to backstage spot and nationalist property," said Al Meneses, main administrative serviceman of Norfolk County.

"What we bash is effort to get the state to recognize that this is simply a regionwide occupation and requires a regionwide solution."

Ontario's Abandoned Works Program provides backing to landowners who request to plug wells, and successful 2023, the state kicked successful $23.6 cardinal to make a provincewide strategy for dealing with aged wells. It included nonstop backing for counties including Norfolk and a doubling of the Abandoned Works Program's fund to $6 cardinal annually.

Other provinces person akin programs. Alberta's Orphan Well Association helps cleanable up wells whose operators person gone retired of business. It raises wealth done a levy connected the lipid and state industry, though critics person warned the levy is not capable to enactment the work.

In 2020, the national authorities announced $1.7 cardinal to assistance cleanable up abandoned wells successful B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. 

"I'm gladsome that finally, I deliberation this is being taken seriously," Stewart said. 

"It'll instrumentality a agelong time. But it's not extracurricular our method capabilities. We tin bash it."

Kang has been researching non-producing wells for implicit a decade. A landmark survey she did successful 2014 connected non-producing wells successful Pennsylvania led the U.S. and Canada to commencement reporting methane emissions from their non-producing wells successful their authoritative yearly estimates. 

With the caller measurements, Kang says she has a overmuch much typical illustration of Canada's non-producing wells that should amended authoritative estimates.