Well Done Foundation
AbbreviationWDF
Formation2019; 3 years ago
FounderCurtis Shuck
TypeNon-profit
PurposeEnvironmental action
HeadquartersShelby, MT
Location
  • United States
MethodsPlugging wells, education
Chairperson
Curtis Shuck
Staff
10+
Websitewelldonefoundation.org

The Well Done Foundation (WDF) is a United States-based non-profit environmental organization that plugs abandoned oil and gas wells, preventing methane emissions from being released into the atmosphere. Established in 2019 with its headquarters in Shelby, Montana, WDF is a vendor for the carbon marketplace and sells offsets verified through the American Carbon Registry (ACR).[1][2]

History

The Bluhm 14 well was drilled in 1934 and produced from the Madison Group. The last recorded production was in 2003, when the well produced 144 barrels of oil over a 15-day period. It was plugged by the Well Done Foundation on April 7, 2021.[3][4]

In 2019, Curtis Shuck, a former oil and gas executive of 30 years, was in Shelby, MT meeting with farmers when he discovered abandoned oil and gas wells scattered around the town's farm fields.[5][6] In November 2019, Shuck initially created the Well Done Montana (WDM), LLC; a for-profit organization designed to plug wells in Montana.[7] The organization started its pilot project in its home state and plugged its first well, known as Anderson #3, in Toole County, Montana, in April 2020.[8] Anderson #3 stopped producing oil in the 1980s and was emitting more than 6,600 MTCO2e before it was plugged.[5]

WDM was formally reorganized into the Well Done Foundation as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in 2020. In June 2020, two more wells, Allen #31-8 and Blum #12, were plugged by WDF in Montana.[2]

WDF continued to expand its operations across the United States throughout 2021, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, including Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Kansas, Louisiana, and Texas.[7][9]

In September 2023, ABB announced it would partner with the Well Done Foundation to monitor methane and greenhouse gas emissions from orphaned wells in the United States.[10][11]

Process

Following the plugging of an abandoned well, contractors use a methane monitoring platform provided by the WDF, known as "Dorothy", to collect methane measurements.

The WDF follows a five-step process to plug a well.[8] It first identifies wells of interest in whichever state it is operating in, then researches well emissions of individual sites, alongside the history of the well, its depth, and materials needed to plug it, for a nine-month period.[5] A bond is then posted and WDF adopts the well from the State. A budget is prepared for the project and a campaign is established to raise funds for the well's plugging and costs for surface restoration. Each campaign is funded entirely through donations and partnerships, with each well costing $30,000 to plug.[7]

Once the funding goal is reached, contractors are employed to carry out the plugging process and a gel is pumped through the well's piping, then filled with concrete.[5] Following the sealing process, a methane monitoring platform, known by WDF as "Dorothy", is placed over the well and collects data on the methane emissions to see if the plugging operation successfully stopped methane leakage.[12] WDF then works with surface land owners to restore the surface surrounding the well to its pre-drilling state.

In the media

References

  1. ↑ "About". The Well Done Foundation. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  2. 1 2 Jean, Renée (2020-06-01). "Shuck begins Well Done Foundation to help plug orphaned, abandoned wells in Montana, North Dakota, and other states". Williston Herald. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  3. ↑ Flowers, Compiled by Darryl L. "Oil Report: State Oil And Gas Leases Go Cheap; Prima Exploration Permits Four Bakken Locations". Fairfield Sun Times. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  4. ↑ "Bluhm #14". The Well Done Foundation. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "How Montana Is Cleaning Up Abandoned Oil Wells". YES! Magazine. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  6. 1 2 "Nonprofit tackles methane emissions 'one well at a time'". KSBY. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Capping methane-spewing oil wells, one hole at a time". Washington Post. 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  8. 1 2 3 Drake, Phil. "Montana Foundation Capping Abandoned Oil Wells". U.S. News & World Report.
  9. 1 2 Jean, Renée (2021-04-19). "Well Done Foundation to celebrate one-year anniversary, Earth Day by plugging its fifth well". Williston Herald. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  10. ↑ "ABB Technology to Help Tackle Methane Leakages from Orphan Oil and Gas Wells". automation.com. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  11. ↑ "ABB to provide economic support to the Well Done Foundation to tackle orphan oil and gas wells". Process and Control Today. 2023-09-22. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  12. 1 2 Drake, Phil. "Capping off problems: Montana-based company takes on abandoned wells". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  13. ↑ This Retired Oil Exec Wants to Plug Up Millions of Abandoned Wells Across the US, retrieved 2021-11-25
  14. ↑ "Ask Me About ... a new model for plugging old oil wells". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  15. ↑ "Seneca Sponsors Plugging of Century-Old Orphan Well in McKean, PA | Marcellus Drilling News". marcellusdrilling.com. 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  16. ↑ "Appalachian Legacy Project to be 'boots on ground' for Well Done Foundation". The Bradford Era. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  17. ↑ "How millions of disused methane-pumping oil wells are fuelling climate crisis". ITV News. 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  18. ↑ "Millions of oil wells have been abandoned. Who will clean them up?". Grist. 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
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