The U.S. EPA estimates that there are 3.2 million abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S. that emitted over 281 kilotons of methane in 2018. The number is mostly attributable to wells that were not properly plugged. On a global scale, Reuters estimates 2.5 million tons per year with climate change data that matches three weeks of U.S. oil consumption. While carbon dioxide gets the headlines, methane is 84X more potent as it absorbs the sun’s heat and warms the atmosphere.

Read More:

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/special-report-millions-abandoned-oil-110204960.html
• https://www.edf.org/climate/methane-other-important-greenhouse-gas
• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/climate/methane-leak-satellite.html