Penn State Extension will host a free webinar November 16 on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells in PA: What’s a Reasonable Estimate? from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.

Dr. Terry Engelder, Penn State Professor of Geosciences, will discuss the legal definition of abandoned well and determining an accurate estimate of the number of those wells.

In Pennsylvania estimates for abandoned wells are difficult to make because many wells were drilled before 1957 were neither reported to the authorities nor recorded by the state record keepers.

Abandoned wells can be a concern if they leak methane into the atmosphere or allow pollutants an easy channel into groundwater.

The Department of Environmental Protection estimates from 300,000 to 760,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania since 1859.  As many as 560,000 remain unaccounted for.

Click Here to register for the webinar or for more information.

For more information on abandoned oil and gas well is Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s Abandoned and Orphan Well Program webpage.

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[Posted: Sept. 27, 2017]

10/2/2017