Re:Texas produces twice as much methane as better regulated ...
by jofer on Wednesday November 08, 2023 @11:20PM
(#38201157)
That's already required, fwiw. Yes even in Texas. It's not the full costs, in practice, and ownership often gets tricky, but there are regulations to the effect. You have to put up a bond to operate oil and gas wells in TX and many other cases. That bond is seized and supposedly used to properly plug and abandon wells if you fail to do so, but it's not always sufficient.
Also, old infrastructure is really old. It's not things from 20 years ago. It's 50-100 years ago. The law requiring escrow or insurance (it has some holes) dates from the 70's.
Finally, it often isn't done properly. Either way, there are a ton of improperly plugged and abandoned wells and other leaky infrastructure that goes undetected.
The regulations you're describing have existed for a long time, but that's not enough to fix the full issue.
Also, old infrastructure is really old. It's not things from 20 years ago. It's 50-100 years ago. The law requiring escrow or insurance (it has some holes) dates from the 70's.
Finally, it often isn't done properly. Either way, there are a ton of improperly plugged and abandoned wells and other leaky infrastructure that goes undetected.
The regulations you're describing have existed for a long time, but that's not enough to fix the full issue.