Orphaned Well Carbon Credits
Permanently plugging orphaned oil and gas wells to stop methane leaks and generate high-quality carbon credits.
Orphaned oil and gas wells are inactive or abandoned wells that no longer have a financially viable owner responsible for plugging and remediation. Left unplugged, these wells can leak methane, oil, brine, and other contaminants, creating climate, environmental, and public safety risks.
This project generates high-quality carbon credits through the permanent plugging of orphaned oil and gas wells that actively emit methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with approximately 30 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. Plugging a single high-emitting orphaned well can permanently eliminate the equivalent of thousands of tonnes of CO₂e, with a verified and irreversible outcome that begins on the day the well is capped. The project may also be evaluated under an alternative buyer-preferred registry or methodology where commercially and technically feasible.
Additionality
Under the project's default methodology, additionality is determined using a three-pronged approach: regulatory surplus, prior consideration, and performance standard. There is no federal or state requirement requiring private entities to plug an orphaned well, so entities undertaking plugging activities do so voluntarily and beyond any legal obligation. Any project developed under this program would not be financially viable without an offtake agreement, making carbon revenue the key incentive that enables and drives the well-plugging activities.
The scale of the orphan well problem far exceeds the resources currently available to address it. Available public funding can only address a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of orphaned wells across the United States, and well plugging is expensive, often costing tens of thousands of dollars per well.
Co-Benefits
In addition to methane abatement, the project provides meaningful environmental and community benefits:
- Reduces risk of groundwater contamination
- Eliminates potential public safety and surface hazards
- Restores land for productive future use
- Supports local economic development
- Improves environmental quality in impacted communities
Anew Climate, CTV, and WSP Global Partnership
Anew is partnering with Climate Transformed Ventures (CTV) and WSP Global to develop orphaned well projects. CTV uses a staged well-selection process to identify and group wells that collectively meet a target credit volume, and WSP provides independent oversight of plugging plans, MRV procedures, and completion documentation. Anew manages the carbon project registration, data interpretation and calculations, verification, and marketing and sale of credits.
Project Impacts
Sustainable Development Goals in action
A universal blueprint for a better world—Anew is helping deliver on the United Nations global vision for social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
Clean Water and Sanitation
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Climate Action
Life on Land
