There is a news channel here on yt just weeks ago I saw about something similar. Abandoned oil wells or whatever, one was in a body of water. Edit: Okay, it was just 9days ago. ABC news yt channel - "Zombie Wells: threat underneath"
It is and has been, it's just not making it as mainstream as one would hope. I've been seeing reports from people for literally years on this subject. It's excellent work though, I'm not trying to discount that. I'm just saying it's not the first time someone has covered it. The fact that it's not discussed in the grand scheme of climate change and we as a whole are just ignoring them as a whole, really. You can't tell me that these wells aren't substantially more polluting than our automobiles, but we are being forced to buy crappier vehicles over it, when we could just fix this and help TONS.
This project should be funded by all the current oil and gas companies, I'm sure fixing all the abandoned wells in say 5 years wouldn't even make a dent in their profits
Government lets them have these shell companies while the wells are producing profits, and then when they are done, they get to pretend the shell company is bankrupt and they can't afford to properly close up the wells. It's a scam pulled off all over the world. It's up to us to elect people who will hold them accountable.
There are simply not enough mobile drilling rigs with suitably trained workers, and the concrete machines required at the same time are probably at least in short supply or probably not sufficient.
@JohnADoe-pg1qk only one way to fix that. Pay for building more equipment and training more people. Better pay would increase interest as well. This needs to be prioritized and we can't make excuses for the companies that caused these problems in the first place.
There's legislation in Canada to have oil wells to be capped off when they become to the end of their life. But like Jerry says they declare bankruptcy and abandon the wells, leaving them as an eyesore on farmland, leaving the cost to the government and citizens to pay to cap them. Yet the government still hands out grants & funding to oil and gas, and no one goes to prison.
The well operators don't go bankrupt. They are shell companies designed to be abandoned once the large oil corporations have drained it dry. They then abandon them as there is no more profits to be made, only costs. This happens not just in America, but all over, and it's up to the government to hold the parent corporations accountable. If you don't like abandon, dangerous wells, then elect people who will stop corporations and hold them accountable for this corrupt practice.
"just elect the right people bro" we would be already living in a utopia if voting actually worked, what we have right now is a bread and circus two party system
@@faustinpippin9208 Canada's got a 3 party system and millions of abandoned wells. The issue is letting the companies "close down" on paper, rename and reopen without having to clean up their mess.
Seems like an easy fix: Make all related company idenities liable for any debts by related shell companies and vice versa... No reason apart from political corruption that it can't be done i think.
Oil and gas companies are now required to post bonds to cover the cost of cleaning up wells in case they file for bankruptcy. This helps in the future, but there is a lot to clean up from past lax regulations!
Here in our country when an oil field comes on production, a site restoration fund is started by the operators which is legally compelling. The amount works like SIP and the amount is decided by a independent third party study . So even if the company goes bankrupt the govt still has the fund to properly abandon the field.
I think the problem is that nobody thought about that 150 years ago when the first oil wells were being drilled. All modern wells will get plugged. But the ones that got abandoned long before any of those regulations existed... I'd guess most of them aren't even mapped or known about. It's not like they would have even required a permit that long ago.
Abandoned wells are a massive issue where I live in Canada, and the oil companies responsible for them either no longer exist or refuse to do anything meaningful about them. Often leaving rural communities to deal with them. Even with satellite imaging, ground monitoring, etc., I really believe the amount of methane leakage is underreported to and misunderstood by the public and governments. Such a massive issue, but the big question is who is going to pay for the cleanup and reclamation...? Thank you for making this video and doing your part to bring awareness, it's truly a critical environment issue.
"Abandoned wells are a massive issue where I live in Canada..." I'd like to see your source for that. There are approximately 5,650 orphan wells and over 139,000 inactive wells in Canada. In Alberta the Orphan Well Association (OWA) is decommissioning wells. The OWA began operation in 2002 and in that time the Alberta Energy Regulator has collected $840 million from levies on oil and gas licenses. The federal government is providing $1.72 billion to AB, BC, and SK to clean up orphan and inactive oil and gas wells.
@@eddydogleg Didn't they report this week or last, that the feds are clawing back the money from AB because the AB gov refused to spend it for over a year?
@@armorclasshero2103 AB gov didn't refuse to spend it. AB gov was slow to start the work then do to weather and labour shortages miss the deadline to have the work completed.
In my opinion someone who wants to harvest methans and liquify ut could make some good money hauling it to a powrplant or something you feel me bro you pickin up what im puttin down
Hi! I've been watching your videos for so many years and I always appreciate how you always include the captions. My grandfather is hard of hearing (he's basically deaf now) and we love watching your videos.
I must say: the best UA-cam video I've seen this year. Not just the actual thing you are doing (that is incredible and World wide important) but also the actual quality of the video. Crazy images and very well done and detailed explanations! 👏👏💪
Hang on. So all the eco initiatives and all the US needs to do is plug all of these and take the equivalent of 3 billions cars (equivalent over 30 years) off the road? Why haven’t I heard of this? Why isn’t getting these capped a priority? How many of these are there world wide? Governments need to get their priorities right.
@@JohnADoe-pg1qk make a law that lets people build a house over that free energy source and done 3 millions holes capped with 0 taxpayer money and a simple legislation
"So all the eco initiatives and all the US needs to do is plug all of these and take the equivalent of 3 billions cars (equivalent over 30 years) off the road? Why haven’t I heard of this?" its with a lot of stuff like this, and we arent doing it because it would actually solve a problem instead of taking stuff away from people and taxing them more and the gov doesnt like that
Making this much concrete is also not very ecologicaly friendly. Production of cement produce alot of co2, it will take some time fro the plugged wells to event offset the production of concrete.
@@armorclasshero2103 It can be enforced if we elect people who will hold them accountable. It's really easy to trace back who owns these shell companies and what companies received the oil or gas. Just need to fund the people, which means electing people who aren't owned by oil and gas corporations.
Actually, the states collect a bond for plugging a well so that if the oil companies run away they can pay to plug the well themselves. Some states have made it a priority to plug these orphaned wells. Other states spent the bond money on something else. Of course, the 3 million number of abandon/leaking wells given at the start of the video is not correct; it is much less. I haven't looked in a few years, but I think the total number of wells ever drilled in the USA is close to 4 million and there is no way that 3 million of those were just left behind. With that said, there were some crazy reckless operators out there from 1890 through ~1980. The industry is currently much more heavily regulated and dare I say responsible.
Thank you for this video! Ad videos on YT are really annoying and I usually skip them, but yours are interesting and informative. It’s not just a whole video advertising about the product, but showcasing a practical real world use case that makes sense. Plus, you get to shed light on something a lot of people didn’t know existed, and I learn something.
I've seen a documentary about this years ago and could not believe my fuckin eyes... It is great (and somewhat sad) that a youtuber now is taking actions against that. I always liked you Jerry, but that is truly amazing! Thank you so much!
@@armorclasshero2103it's long abandoned... Unless an oil company bought out the prior company, it's not their business... Just like I can't ask the relatives of my homes prior owner to clean up all the trash he threw deep in the woods. Oil companies seal modern wells when they finish them.
I’m really glad to see someone who has a large following such as you finally cover this issue. I’m not affected by this but it’s a tragedy that doesn’t get talked about enough
@@tommy8716 I don’t own any land. Therefor I don’t have to deal with any unplugged oil wells pumping oil next to the cows or crops I don’t own. Just because we are all on the same planet doesn’t mean we all have the exact same issues to deal with on a day to day basis.
@@jakebot97 but regardless, you breath the same air as the rest of us. Those unplugged wells are releasing polluting gases into the atmosphere we all breath. Not to mention the climate change impact. We all have to live with the consequences of these wells, whether you want to or not. Even though it may not be your direct problem to solve, you are affected by it.
@@RealMasterKush420Methane was not the only gas being released, but it's still a problematic one, given the impact on the atmosphere. Regardless, I've adjusted my comment to more accurately describe the problem impacting the global population
Im Canadian from a place called Cobalt in Ontario. The entire town was a silver capital at one point. They never filled in anything. I spent my childhood walking around mine shafts. It blows my mind the US doesnt cap these wells.
If the original company pumped cement down as soon as they stopped using it, they wouldn't have to redrill the well first like this. Be much easier to do it fresh.
@@adrianthoroughgood1191they're not redrilling the well?... wtf lmfao they're picking up pipe to get down to the correct zones and pumping cement. No drilling required lol the well is already drilled. Jesus
It's like 3 days worth of work to plug and abandon a 10,000 foot well. It really isn't that much work lmfao a 1500 foot well like this is I could have plugged in 12 hours. Rigging up on the next one
Tbh I got no clue what Jerry’s channels focus is but all the videos are just random bangers and I love it. I’ll watch this man build bunkers, build wheelchairs, absolutely eviscerate an iPhone, and then go drive a hummer 😂
@@BSGSVthe thing is regulations arnt all equal, effectively this and any pollution is really really indirectly murder, however paying someone less than minimum wage isn’t harming anyone and is actually enhancing everyone’s lives
@@rhysrail Or we could just pay everyone enough to live because basically every job is essential for society to function and grow. And we cap the oil wells and use the law to enforce oil companies do better.
these Ecoflow products are helping us a lot in Ukraine. We have Delta Max for parents so they have a backup power for lights + TV + Starlink in case of an outage. And I use River Max to power my router, laptop and GPON terminal. With this thing I can work a whole day in an "off-grid" scenario caused by some air missiles. And then it can be quickly charged within an hour or so. Also, it can be charged by car (quite long though) so its like a backup option for me. Great and reliable products in these unfortunate war sircumstances.
Because "Regulations are bad"... Or at least 50% of Americans would say that. They stifle innovation, lower economic output, and give our companies a global disadvantage. Remember half our country truly believes government is bad, regulations are bad, and freedom means they can do whatever they want.
@@CrisCheese_ The best thing is. Force the oil companys to pay for plugging it in advance. Like a 1 Million deposit they have to pay before opening a well. At the end they can plug it and get the money back or the state can use the money to plug the well. Wouldn't be so hard to force
@@oldhelldog5460 Just pay a dollar per barrel extracted or something. Put it into a general index fund or something. Government bonds perhaps? And then hand the money to whomever plugs the well and cleans it up.
It's worth mentioning that it's common practice for big oil/mining companies to sell off expended wells/mines (sometimes along with assets) over to a smaller company. This company exists literally to go bankrupt so nobody has to spend any money clearing up the contaminated land or cap any wells.
Ive got the newest delta pro, And with 3 solar panels ( Not properly adjusted, Or I would get more ) I get about 1.2 kilowatts an hour, Which allows me to run starlink, my AC, and several gaming laptops during the day, And a bunch of devices at night ( Including my phone, and APAP ) Highly recommend this setup for long term camping if you want to keep connected!
This is what oil industry calls "externalities" - someone else will pay for this, so the profits do not shrink. And we still happily use their products and complain about horrible EVs and heat pumps. Stockholm syndrome, I guess.
IMO, using heat pumps, EVs, and solar panels is just my little way of saying "I see you -- and I don't like you. So I'm going to work around you." The more that individuals are energy-independent, the less this whole industry can sustain itself, and the less we're engaged in "military operations" in places that have more oil than we do. I have lost all hope in government being able to regulate oil and tech, because we didn't properly prevent monopolies, so now they're too big to fight. It's up to us instead. So, when you start your EV and drive past a gas station, have them pass on a friendly wave.
It is not an "oil industry" lingo, it is a term from economics. And it doesn't meant that "somebody else will pay for it" it means the effects to third parties for doing business. It can be both negative (cost) or positive (benefits).
Its insane that there are 3 million of these holes contributing 1000 cars worth of CO2 per year to the earth yet nobody knows about it. Absolutely insane
He also mentioned it was the same as planting 200k trees - but sadly this is one of the most misunderstood things in climate change. Trees don’t eliminate co2 - they just kick the can down the road. A tree absorbs co2 as it grows but then when it dies, all that co2 is released back into the environment (this is slightly over-simplified for a UA-cam comment but generally true)
I didnt knew that much work went into plugin those things, thanks the info it was very refreshing to see this after that green washing shell is doing. Keep up the good work!
the way you presented it, with the comparison to cars and all that... shouldn't plugging those holes as soon as possible be a pretty big deal? honestly it's the first time i'm hearing about this
This should definitely be mandatory for oil companies to do, even if these wells are haven't be used is a long time. The only question left is who pays for plugging the wells of companies that don't exist anymore. Other Oil companies? The Government? Because just leaving them open if for sure no option. This was very interesting! Thank You Zack!
Simple: Require a decommissioning fund to be established. If you're drilling for oil, you most put up X amount of money up front for every meter/feet drilled, plus X amount for every barrel of oil/m3 of gas extracted. The fund money is locked up, until the well it certified as being plugged. They do this for nuclear plants, so why not do it for oil companies?
Making it mandatory to plug some holes for any company that buys or sells crude oil should make anyone who wants to stay in that business do their part in cleaning their mess.
I used to work in geophysics, around drill rigs and drill holes a lot. Usually these holes would have a concrete cap sitting in them. It's not air tight and anybody could pick it up, it's quite small just to stop critters from getting in. Well one day, I found one which had not been capped, and the top 2m was lined with PVC. A bird had gone in searching for shelter and was unable to crawl back out. The hole was marginally larger than the bird which could not spread it's wings. I called the client to notify them but after 2 days, the bird was still in the hole. I tried for over an hour to try and get the little fellow out by gently lowering a ratchet strap down to it to hang on to then drag it up, and at best got it half way up the PVC before it either freaked out or lost it's footing. I decided after that, that it would be best to leave the strap in there for the bird to try and climb out itself, and I left. I don't know if the bird got out. It would have been very tired from trying to balance and not fall down the hole. All I know is that the next morning, I could no longer see it. I wish that companies would take this more seriously. Plug your holes! It is cheap and it could save a cute little owl's life! (I think it was an owl, I don't know for sure).
@@pan6593 That should be Oil Company's responsibility, they already made a ton of money with the oil, so they must be able to seal it when they're done
Although I don't live in the US, this problem affects each and every one of us by affecting the environment. I think that this might have been one of your most important videos. Thank you for spreading awareness, sir!
Thanks for making a video about this so it can be seen by a wide audience. I knew a little about this problem but the logistics of it really are something I did not know. Remote wells requiring 3 cement related trucks just to plug it. Yikes. We really are paying dearly for our past mistakes.
I really hope Zack somehow becomes a billionaire in the future. People like him that wants to better and preserve our planet are the ones that deserve the money.
This video was an elaborate ad for the eco flow. Geez. Part of me really wants to get back into this type of work. The idea of helping to close up toxic issues like this is inspiring.
Worst part is that without early interference this process will only go on… due to the excessive methane and other greenhouse gases the earth can’t cool down enough and due to the fact that more permafrost is melting more lakes with methane underneath are being exposed. This leads to even more methane and so on…
Thank you, Eco Flo for doing more than our government or the oil company on this issue even if it is just a publicity stunt you’ve genially done good (put a bad situation good )
@@benmudn so does every company but I guess you’re right Some argue that those terrible slave labor jobs compared to first world jobs are provided opportunities I do believe the situation sucks, but I’m indifferent on the matter
@@Pandabubba9 Agree. Sadly it seems that the ones "winning" are the ones that have the best PR teams that keep their dark secrets from being seen and highlighting how bad the "other" are.
@@benmudn my favorite is the technology company’s with all their knowledge an infinite power, the ones that never screw up like cats (they don’t like the embarrassment because they do screw up) Had no idea that cobalt mines were/are using 80 to 100% child labor
Dude just got up and said I'll solve all the world's problems, no water no issue, no education here's schools and libraries, no wheelchairs I'll make some that even Able bodied want, gas leaking from oil wells lets plug em up,
And yet the responsibility is on us to recycle as much as possible when major corporations do so much environmental damage at such a large volume that consumer efforts are basically pointless theater to assuage our own guilt for our conspicuous overconsumption.
I work Oil and Gas on the North Slope of Alaska and this is awesome to watch, and also surprises me that it is allowed to happen. We have to follow so many more stringent rules up here. Example, we would be in such HUGE world of trouble for letting waste water of any type onto the ground like that, lol. But man is it good to see at least one well plugged, I hope bringing this to peoples attention helps plug many more abandoned wells. Keep up the awesome work!
Absolutely mind-blowing, I had no idea the problem was even there, thank you Zack, I wonder if Australia has this problem, cheers from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺
Waste of taxpayers money. All world should pass a bill for all mines and similar stuff handler companies have to have enough money in a reserve account to clean after themselves even if they claim bankruptcy. There was an 80 year old gold mine that claimed bankruptcy when it is time to close down the mine and clean all the arsenic.
With production of cement being so CO2 heavy, whats the "pay back" time in terms of how long does it take the recoup the cost of producing so much cememnt? Very interesting video, I didn't know that
They measured 55 tons of co2 equivalent gas leakage per year on this well and. ~4 Tons of concrete were needed. One ton of concrete produces ~600kg of co2. 4*0.6/55≈0.044 Years Basically under a month
@@GreenJimll He just don't know how to do it. In my country it can cook for a month. He is just one of the guys who thinks it's a trash. Maybe because he is rich already. He thinks it's better to buy a gas tank.
You should have lined the settling pond (swimming pool that you dug out) with an impermeable liner before you pumped the water/oil from the well into the pond. The liner would prevent the water/oil mixture from soaking into the farmer's land and contaminating the soil. When you were done you could then pump out the pond and take the water/oil to a recycling facility for proper disposal.
Yeah, it's a waste plugging it up. If someone were to calculate the cost spent plugging it up, it's likely more economically viable to create jobs to collect and sell it.
I love how we have to make small sustainable choices everyday so one billionaire motherf***er or company can make more money and leave us to pay for that after :3
So you're telling me that we've been enduring paper straws and cups when millions of these holes are pumping out greenhouse gases into the atmosphere???
The cap idea won't work, as the gas will seep through the hundreds of feet of soil between the surface and the rocks at the bottom. They also need to do the drilling (a) to ensure no obstructions all the way down, and (b) to inject the cement to seal the hole in the rock layer.
You will need to plug the source with cement, then restore any natural barriers (clay/shale layer) this will make sure the gas does not leak through the formation making it even a bigger hazard
The numbers don't add up. is it 3,000,00 wells or 120,000 wells? I've heard both and this isn't a rounding error. Also, If the average well released 55 tons a year than we would have 115,000,000 tones of menthane released a year. This is almost twice the total methane released around the world every year. Someone's lying to you.
I agree! math needs double checked there! This is why "global warming" got a bad name, was fear mongering and bad science. I think this is a really cool idea and a relatively easy fix when pumps go dry. Lets not hinder the effort with bad numbers
I’ve heard about these wells before it is absolutely crazy that they’re not required to cap these. I know where I live in Michigan. People have well for drinking water and if you have an old well and it gets replaced with a new one, the old one has to be capped.
The resources to fix the problem are staggering! 3 days of work, all that water, cement, etc... I usually feel encouraged after watching your videos, but this left a pit of despair in my chest. There has to be a better way to fix the problem. Maybe even half solving it with a quick band-aid is better than perfectly fixing one at a time.
Wild that this is basically not talked about at all. Thanks for spreading awareness.
There is a news channel here on yt just weeks ago I saw about something similar. Abandoned oil wells or whatever, one was in a body of water.
Edit: Okay, it was just 9days ago. ABC news yt channel - "Zombie Wells: threat underneath"
It is and has been, it's just not making it as mainstream as one would hope.
I've been seeing reports from people for literally years on this subject.
It's excellent work though, I'm not trying to discount that. I'm just saying it's not the first time someone has covered it.
The fact that it's not discussed in the grand scheme of climate change and we as a whole are just ignoring them as a whole, really.
You can't tell me that these wells aren't substantially more polluting than our automobiles, but we are being forced to buy crappier vehicles over it, when we could just fix this and help TONS.
It isn't talked about because the powers that be can't use it to control people.
The environmental movement seems to only care about carbon now... forget the plastics.. forget the poisons..
@MagicSneez this definitely isn't true at all
This project should be funded by all the current oil and gas companies, I'm sure fixing all the abandoned wells in say 5 years wouldn't even make a dent in their profits
Government lets them have these shell companies while the wells are producing profits, and then when they are done, they get to pretend the shell company is bankrupt and they can't afford to properly close up the wells. It's a scam pulled off all over the world. It's up to us to elect people who will hold them accountable.
There are simply not enough mobile drilling rigs with suitably trained workers, and the concrete machines required at the same time are probably at least in short supply or probably not sufficient.
@JohnADoe-pg1qk only one way to fix that. Pay for building more equipment and training more people. Better pay would increase interest as well. This needs to be prioritized and we can't make excuses for the companies that caused these problems in the first place.
@@JohnADoe-pg1qk If a random youtuber can make then I'm pretty sure it won't be an issue for a multi bilion dolar oil industry
There's legislation in Canada to have oil wells to be capped off when they become to the end of their life.
But like Jerry says they declare bankruptcy and abandon the wells, leaving them as an eyesore on farmland, leaving the cost to the government and citizens to pay to cap them.
Yet the government still hands out grants & funding to oil and gas, and no one goes to prison.
The well operators don't go bankrupt. They are shell companies designed to be abandoned once the large oil corporations have drained it dry. They then abandon them as there is no more profits to be made, only costs. This happens not just in America, but all over, and it's up to the government to hold the parent corporations accountable. If you don't like abandon, dangerous wells, then elect people who will stop corporations and hold them accountable for this corrupt practice.
"just elect the right people bro"
we would be already living in a utopia if voting actually worked, what we have right now is a bread and circus two party system
This was exactly my experience working with them.
@@faustinpippin9208 Canada's got a 3 party system and millions of abandoned wells. The issue is letting the companies "close down" on paper, rename and reopen without having to clean up their mess.
Seems like an easy fix: Make all related company idenities liable for any debts by related shell companies and vice versa...
No reason apart from political corruption that it can't be done i think.
Oil and gas companies are now required to post bonds to cover the cost of cleaning up wells in case they file for bankruptcy. This helps in the future, but there is a lot to clean up from past lax regulations!
I wrote a research paper on abandoned oil and gas wells last year. Cool that somebody is doing something about them!
Here in our country when an oil field comes on production, a site restoration fund is started by the operators which is legally compelling. The amount works like SIP and the amount is decided by a independent third party study . So even if the company goes bankrupt the govt still has the fund to properly abandon the field.
Great solution. Now only if oil drillers weren't braindead here from inhaling all that methane already...
A safety deposit. You have to leave money in an untouched account that will account for cleanup should you fail to properly seal.
Which country has these policies? I'd be interested to learn more.
@@crowonthepowerlines the US does this now, but like the video said there are 3000000 wells from before this rule was brought in.
I think the problem is that nobody thought about that 150 years ago when the first oil wells were being drilled. All modern wells will get plugged. But the ones that got abandoned long before any of those regulations existed... I'd guess most of them aren't even mapped or known about. It's not like they would have even required a permit that long ago.
Abandoned wells are a massive issue where I live in Canada, and the oil companies responsible for them either no longer exist or refuse to do anything meaningful about them. Often leaving rural communities to deal with them. Even with satellite imaging, ground monitoring, etc., I really believe the amount of methane leakage is underreported to and misunderstood by the public and governments. Such a massive issue, but the big question is who is going to pay for the cleanup and reclamation...? Thank you for making this video and doing your part to bring awareness, it's truly a critical environment issue.
Governments don't misunderstand it. They're paid to lie by their oil buddies.
Oh trust me, those oil companies exist. They just exist under different names.
"Abandoned wells are a massive issue where I live in Canada..." I'd like to see your source for that.
There are approximately 5,650 orphan wells and over 139,000 inactive wells in Canada. In Alberta the Orphan Well Association (OWA) is decommissioning wells. The OWA began operation in 2002 and in that time the Alberta Energy Regulator has collected $840 million from levies on oil and gas licenses. The federal government is providing $1.72 billion to AB, BC, and SK to clean up orphan and inactive oil and gas wells.
@@eddydogleg Didn't they report this week or last, that the feds are clawing back the money from AB because the AB gov refused to spend it for over a year?
@@armorclasshero2103 AB gov didn't refuse to spend it. AB gov was slow to start the work then do to weather and labour shortages miss the deadline to have the work completed.
just slap some flex' tape on it
😂😂😂😂
🤣🤣
JonTron just uploaded! What are the odds!! 😄
Blu tack would work just fine.
@@poeterritory or maybe flex paste
This is a pretty serious problem I never knew about. Big W Zack
In my opinion someone who wants to harvest methans and liquify ut could make some good money hauling it to a powrplant or something you feel me bro you pickin up what im puttin down
It's not. Methane isn't harmful, it actually is good for the plants.
Hi! I've been watching your videos for so many years and I always appreciate how you always include the captions. My grandfather is hard of hearing (he's basically deaf now) and we love watching your videos.
I must say: the best UA-cam video I've seen this year. Not just the actual thing you are doing (that is incredible and World wide important) but also the actual quality of the video. Crazy images and very well done and detailed explanations! 👏👏💪
i never knew jerryrigeverything was actually insanely cool
fact check: true.
With all due respect bud, that would mean you have been living under a rock and for a while too 😂
@@JerryRigEverything Jerry giving himself a pat on the back
@@VeryCuriousGuy Deserved
Can I have iPhone 16
Hang on. So all the eco initiatives and all the US needs to do is plug all of these and take the equivalent of 3 billions cars (equivalent over 30 years) off the road? Why haven’t I heard of this? Why isn’t getting these capped a priority? How many of these are there world wide? Governments need to get their priorities right.
Writing new laws is cheap, but plugging all these holes is quite expensive.
@@JohnADoe-pg1qk make a law that lets people build a house over that free energy source and done 3 millions holes capped with 0 taxpayer money and a simple legislation
"So all the eco initiatives and all the US needs to do is plug all of these and take the equivalent of 3 billions cars (equivalent over 30 years) off the road? Why haven’t I heard of this?"
its with a lot of stuff like this, and we arent doing it because it would actually solve a problem instead of taking stuff away from people and taxing them more and the gov doesnt like that
Making this much concrete is also not very ecologicaly friendly. Production of cement produce alot of co2, it will take some time fro the plugged wells to event offset the production of concrete.
@@JohnADoe-pg1qk Sounds like a lot of jobs to be made. Can't be having that.
It's amazing that oil companies don't have a legal obligation to fix this.
They technically do, but they just abandon everything and since everything is owned by a numbered shell corp there's no real way to enforce it.
@@armorclasshero2103 It can be enforced if we elect people who will hold them accountable. It's really easy to trace back who owns these shell companies and what companies received the oil or gas. Just need to fund the people, which means electing people who aren't owned by oil and gas corporations.
Cell phone companies should be responsible for the disposal of their phones. Apple making working tech non functional on purpose.
@@ScytheNoiretruth and facts
Actually, the states collect a bond for plugging a well so that if the oil companies run away they can pay to plug the well themselves. Some states have made it a priority to plug these orphaned wells. Other states spent the bond money on something else. Of course, the 3 million number of abandon/leaking wells given at the start of the video is not correct; it is much less. I haven't looked in a few years, but I think the total number of wells ever drilled in the USA is close to 4 million and there is no way that 3 million of those were just left behind. With that said, there were some crazy reckless operators out there from 1890 through ~1980. The industry is currently much more heavily regulated and dare I say responsible.
For a youtuber to actually do something about this and not just report on it is pretty cool in my book.
Thank you for this video! Ad videos on YT are really annoying and I usually skip them, but yours are interesting and informative. It’s not just a whole video advertising about the product, but showcasing a practical real world use case that makes sense. Plus, you get to shed light on something a lot of people didn’t know existed, and I learn something.
This has been shared before on other channels... but nobody did anything about it. Great that this channel is doing something, not just reporting it!
I've seen a documentary about this years ago and could not believe my fuckin eyes... It is great (and somewhat sad) that a youtuber now is taking actions against that.
I always liked you Jerry, but that is truly amazing!
Thank you so much!
All of that effort to just one pipe? Dayum
That's why oil industry doesn't want to pay for it.
@@armorclasshero2103it's long abandoned... Unless an oil company bought out the prior company, it's not their business... Just like I can't ask the relatives of my homes prior owner to clean up all the trash he threw deep in the woods.
Oil companies seal modern wells when they finish them.
And there's thousands of wells
@@volvo09 No, they don't. They just cap them.
@@GoldRaven-oe4by more like a million.
I’m really glad to see someone who has a large following such as you finally cover this issue. I’m not affected by this but it’s a tragedy that doesn’t get talked about enough
What do you mean, we're all affected by this
@@tommy8716 I don’t own any land. Therefor I don’t have to deal with any unplugged oil wells pumping oil next to the cows or crops I don’t own. Just because we are all on the same planet doesn’t mean we all have the exact same issues to deal with on a day to day basis.
@@jakebot97 but regardless, you breath the same air as the rest of us. Those unplugged wells are releasing polluting gases into the atmosphere we all breath. Not to mention the climate change impact. We all have to live with the consequences of these wells, whether you want to or not. Even though it may not be your direct problem to solve, you are affected by it.
@@tommy8716 methane is non toxic. up to 10% of a fart is methane.
@@RealMasterKush420Methane was not the only gas being released, but it's still a problematic one, given the impact on the atmosphere. Regardless, I've adjusted my comment to more accurately describe the problem impacting the global population
I just read an article about this last week, it’s a huge problem. Great job bringing attention to it!
Im Canadian from a place called Cobalt in Ontario. The entire town was a silver capital at one point.
They never filled in anything. I spent my childhood walking around mine shafts.
It blows my mind the US doesnt cap these wells.
That just seems like a ridiculous amount of effort, materials, and cost to solve a problem that shouldn't have needed to be solved. Sad.
Exactly!
If the original company pumped cement down as soon as they stopped using it, they wouldn't have to redrill the well first like this. Be much easier to do it fresh.
@@adrianthoroughgood1191they're not redrilling the well?... wtf lmfao they're picking up pipe to get down to the correct zones and pumping cement. No drilling required lol the well is already drilled. Jesus
It's like 3 days worth of work to plug and abandon a 10,000 foot well. It really isn't that much work lmfao a 1500 foot well like this is I could have plugged in 12 hours. Rigging up on the next one
I wonder, if I filled the well with thermite and lit it off would that plug the well?
Probably not. Would create a crater
Only one way to find out! Would be fun as hell
It would be fun to find out
Well, the Soviets used a nuke so I guess your option is somewhat more eco-friendly.
👍
Tbh I got no clue what Jerry’s channels focus is but all the videos are just random bangers and I love it. I’ll watch this man build bunkers, build wheelchairs, absolutely eviscerate an iPhone, and then go drive a hummer 😂
Awesome way to combine an advertisement and raising awareness. Thank you for sharing.
Blame your government for not forcing the companies to clean them.
or "Big Oil" for lobbying your government
@@Kauppamopo Or the government for being corrupt.
And it is a pretty good argument AGAINST deregulation.
@@BSGSVthe thing is regulations arnt all equal, effectively this and any pollution is really really indirectly murder, however paying someone less than minimum wage isn’t harming anyone and is actually enhancing everyone’s lives
@@rhysrail Or we could just pay everyone enough to live because basically every job is essential for society to function and grow.
And we cap the oil wells and use the law to enforce oil companies do better.
internalize profits, externalize costs, move on and repeat
these Ecoflow products are helping us a lot in Ukraine. We have Delta Max for parents so they have a backup power for lights + TV + Starlink in case of an outage. And I use River Max to power my router, laptop and GPON terminal. With this thing I can work a whole day in an "off-grid" scenario caused by some air missiles. And then it can be quickly charged within an hour or so. Also, it can be charged by car (quite long though) so its like a backup option for me. Great and reliable products in these unfortunate war sircumstances.
I’m not a huge environmentalist kinda guy, but these videos warm my soul, thank you for your amazing work!! Love your videos man❤
This is an excellent video - please make videos like this - you addressed and brought focus on an important topic
Why closing these wells after used isnt a federal law?
The company should be responsible to pay to maintain these wells for life.
Shell companies of the big oil and gas corporations, and the government doesn't hold the parent company accountable. It's corruption.
problem is either the companies dont exist anymore or the existing ones couldnt care less and have enough money to pay for fines
Because "Regulations are bad"... Or at least 50% of Americans would say that. They stifle innovation, lower economic output, and give our companies a global disadvantage. Remember half our country truly believes government is bad, regulations are bad, and freedom means they can do whatever they want.
@@CrisCheese_ The best thing is. Force the oil companys to pay for plugging it in advance. Like a 1 Million deposit they have to pay before opening a well. At the end they can plug it and get the money back or the state can use the money to plug the well. Wouldn't be so hard to force
@@oldhelldog5460 Just pay a dollar per barrel extracted or something. Put it into a general index fund or something. Government bonds perhaps? And then hand the money to whomever plugs the well and cleans it up.
Oil companies are busy counting money instead of watching this. Never knew this existed. Kudos Jerry boy and the team!
It's worth mentioning that it's common practice for big oil/mining companies to sell off expended wells/mines (sometimes along with assets) over to a smaller company. This company exists literally to go bankrupt so nobody has to spend any money clearing up the contaminated land or cap any wells.
Ive got the newest delta pro, And with 3 solar panels ( Not properly adjusted, Or I would get more ) I get about 1.2 kilowatts an hour, Which allows me to run starlink, my AC, and several gaming laptops during the day, And a bunch of devices at night ( Including my phone, and APAP )
Highly recommend this setup for long term camping if you want to keep connected!
Thank you for bringing this very urgent problem to our attention.
Thanks to the people of Well Done for their hard work.
This is what oil industry calls "externalities" - someone else will pay for this, so the profits do not shrink. And we still happily use their products and complain about horrible EVs and heat pumps. Stockholm syndrome, I guess.
People sleeping on heat pumps in most environments is so wild and ridiculous
@@goosenotmaverick1156 for new homes they will 100% be the way to go. love that technology
IMO, using heat pumps, EVs, and solar panels is just my little way of saying "I see you -- and I don't like you. So I'm going to work around you."
The more that individuals are energy-independent, the less this whole industry can sustain itself, and the less we're engaged in "military operations" in places that have more oil than we do.
I have lost all hope in government being able to regulate oil and tech, because we didn't properly prevent monopolies, so now they're too big to fight. It's up to us instead. So, when you start your EV and drive past a gas station, have them pass on a friendly wave.
It is not an "oil industry" lingo, it is a term from economics.
And it doesn't meant that "somebody else will pay for it" it means the effects to third parties for doing business. It can be both negative (cost) or positive (benefits).
Do people still believe that EVs are a good alternative? There is nothing good about them apart from gov subsidies
Its insane that there are 3 million of these holes contributing 1000 cars worth of CO2 per year to the earth yet nobody knows about it. Absolutely insane
wasnt it 1000cars per hole?
@@faustinpippin9208 yes
He also mentioned it was the same as planting 200k trees - but sadly this is one of the most misunderstood things in climate change. Trees don’t eliminate co2 - they just kick the can down the road. A tree absorbs co2 as it grows but then when it dies, all that co2 is released back into the environment (this is slightly over-simplified for a UA-cam comment but generally true)
Wait, are the wells excreting CO2 or Methane?
Gas is gas, and gas leaks.
I didnt knew that much work went into plugin those things, thanks the info it was very refreshing to see this after that green washing shell is doing. Keep up the good work!
Mr Beast next video should be: "Plugging a MILLION orphan wells across America"
Or perhaps our government can actually just hold oil companies accountable for the damage that they are causing for once.
the way you presented it, with the comparison to cars and all that... shouldn't plugging those holes as soon as possible be a pretty big deal? honestly it's the first time i'm hearing about this
This should definitely be mandatory for oil companies to do, even if these wells are haven't be used is a long time. The only question left is who pays for plugging the wells of companies that don't exist anymore. Other Oil companies? The Government? Because just leaving them open if for sure no option.
This was very interesting! Thank You Zack!
dunno, insurance companies?
Which company? The insurance on a bankruptbm company doesnt exist@@DominikJaniec
Do the owners or their descendants of said non-existent companies still live?
Simple: Require a decommissioning fund to be established. If you're drilling for oil, you most put up X amount of money up front for every meter/feet drilled, plus X amount for every barrel of oil/m3 of gas extracted. The fund money is locked up, until the well it certified as being plugged. They do this for nuclear plants, so why not do it for oil companies?
Making it mandatory to plug some holes for any company that buys or sells crude oil should make anyone who wants to stay in that business do their part in cleaning their mess.
I used to work in geophysics, around drill rigs and drill holes a lot.
Usually these holes would have a concrete cap sitting in them. It's not air tight and anybody could pick it up, it's quite small just to stop critters from getting in.
Well one day, I found one which had not been capped, and the top 2m was lined with PVC. A bird had gone in searching for shelter and was unable to crawl back out. The hole was marginally larger than the bird which could not spread it's wings.
I called the client to notify them but after 2 days, the bird was still in the hole. I tried for over an hour to try and get the little fellow out by gently lowering a ratchet strap down to it to hang on to then drag it up, and at best got it half way up the PVC before it either freaked out or lost it's footing.
I decided after that, that it would be best to leave the strap in there for the bird to try and climb out itself, and I left.
I don't know if the bird got out. It would have been very tired from trying to balance and not fall down the hole. All I know is that the next morning, I could no longer see it.
I wish that companies would take this more seriously. Plug your holes! It is cheap and it could save a cute little owl's life! (I think it was an owl, I don't know for sure).
That‘s exactly the point. It is not cheap. Putting a cap on maybe, but really closing it, is not.
@@pan6593 That should be Oil Company's responsibility, they already made a ton of money with the oil, so they must be able to seal it when they're done
Although I don't live in the US, this problem affects each and every one of us by affecting the environment. I think that this might have been one of your most important videos.
Thank you for spreading awareness, sir!
Thanks for making a video about this so it can be seen by a wide audience. I knew a little about this problem but the logistics of it really are something I did not know. Remote wells requiring 3 cement related trucks just to plug it. Yikes. We really are paying dearly for our past mistakes.
2:18 I suppose he means 55 tons of CO2 as in that 2.4 tons of CH4 has the heat trapping effect equivalent of 55 tons of CO2.
I really hope Zack somehow becomes a billionaire in the future. People like him that wants to better and preserve our planet are the ones that deserve the money.
He never will. He spends too much money helping people to let it get that high.
@@engineer9975 I was gonna add, he probably wouldn't let it get that high because he reinvests his money into helping and not into making more of it.
You forgot about the part as to how someone becomes a billionaire. Spoiler: it's not by any good means.
no you don’t, people hate rich people…
@@ryancommenter-r7obecause rich people are selfish [doot] with no care for the lower classes
What a sad and disgusting mess the oil industry has created. Props to Well Done for their efforts to clean up!
Well then throw your phone away and all other electronics. Without oil you ain't getting a phone. So be the bigger person Christian
The numbers are amazing. I’m glad somebody is doing something about it.
This video was an elaborate ad for the eco flow. Geez.
Part of me really wants to get back into this type of work. The idea of helping to close up toxic issues like this is inspiring.
Someone has to sponsor environmental cleanups. Did you want to pay?
Leaking for 30 years and not enough to be economicaly viable to harvest it? That's insane!
Worst part is that without early interference this process will only go on… due to the excessive methane and other greenhouse gases the earth can’t cool down enough and due to the fact that more permafrost is melting more lakes with methane underneath are being exposed. This leads to even more methane and so on…
Thank you, Eco Flo for doing more than our government or the oil company on this issue
even if it is just a publicity stunt you’ve genially done good (put a bad situation good )
Barring that you over look that the company profits off of slave labor, including children.
@@benmudn so does every company but I guess you’re right
Some argue that those terrible slave labor jobs compared to first world jobs are provided opportunities
I do believe the situation sucks, but I’m indifferent on the matter
@@Pandabubba9 Agree. Sadly it seems that the ones "winning" are the ones that have the best PR teams that keep their dark secrets from being seen and highlighting how bad the "other" are.
@@benmudn my favorite is the technology company’s with all their knowledge an infinite power, the ones that never screw up like cats (they don’t like the embarrassment because they do screw up)
Had no idea that cobalt mines were/are using 80 to 100% child labor
Many thanks to EcoFlow and the Well Done Foundation. What a collaboration!
One of the most important videos I've seen on UA-cam since it started.
5:32 lol those responses i love that guy
Dude just got up and said I'll solve all the world's problems, no water no issue, no education here's schools and libraries, no wheelchairs I'll make some that even Able bodied want, gas leaking from oil wells lets plug em up,
Didn't add a full stop because I'm sure he's working on more projects we just don't know about
Money can do good in the correct hands
And yet the responsibility is on us to recycle as much as possible when major corporations do so much environmental damage at such a large volume that consumer efforts are basically pointless theater to assuage our own guilt for our conspicuous overconsumption.
exactly
Lmao recycling is a shame. Look it up.
@@HB_Dee615 *sham, but yes I did say that. Maybe not quite so eloquently as you did.
This is truly engaging and impressive! Sending greetings from Germany. We should see more projects like this worldwide! Thank you!
I work Oil and Gas on the North Slope of Alaska and this is awesome to watch, and also surprises me that it is allowed to happen. We have to follow so many more stringent rules up here. Example, we would be in such HUGE world of trouble for letting waste water of any type onto the ground like that, lol. But man is it good to see at least one well plugged, I hope bringing this to peoples attention helps plug many more abandoned wells. Keep up the awesome work!
Never knew about this. Super interesting! Oil kinda sucks. 😅
Oil rules 🔥
Thanks for covering this it'd be nice if we could find a way to use all that methane for something useful
It's a small flow, and it's too remote to collect. Just plug it.
It's more useful not being used. Burning it would be worse.
1:56 wearing headphones and now im deaf
Absolutely mind-blowing, I had no idea the problem was even there, thank you Zack, I wonder if Australia has this problem, cheers from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺
Great job...please don't stop doing the great work 💪 Thank you for the time given to save and recover this planet. 🌎
Waste of taxpayers money.
All world should pass a bill for all mines and similar stuff handler companies have to have enough money in a reserve account to clean after themselves even if they claim bankruptcy.
There was an 80 year old gold mine that claimed bankruptcy when it is time to close down the mine and clean all the arsenic.
5:44 so if you have like a cigarette nearby it will ignite the gas ?
One of the best ways I've seen to promote a product.
this is the first time i heared about the leakage of HS , CH4 from abandonded oil field thanks for the info and closing that up
4:00 and 6:45. It's Concrete, not cement. Cement is mixed with water (and usually aggregate, but not in this case) to form concrete.
With production of cement being so CO2 heavy, whats the "pay back" time in terms of how long does it take the recoup the cost of producing so much cememnt?
Very interesting video, I didn't know that
The ROI is negative, that's why oil corps abandon them.
@2023_GJ good point. A closed ended, finite carbon cost seems like it's nearly always going to be the ideal choice, over an unknown.
@@2023_GJ the video literally states they're abandoned because the ROI isn't worth it.
They measured 55 tons of co2 equivalent gas leakage per year on this well and. ~4 Tons of concrete were needed. One ton of concrete produces ~600kg of co2. 4*0.6/55≈0.044 Years
Basically under a month
@@1.0 don't forget about the h2s
With as much as we hear about climate change it’s insane this is the first I’m learning about this issue lol
Considering methane combusts really well, couldn't you use it as free fuel and generate electricity or something
Watch to the end: he says it isn't economic to do that (otherwise they wouldn't have abandoned the well in the first place).
@@GreenJimll He just don't know how to do it. In my country it can cook for a month. He is just one of the guys who thinks it's a trash. Maybe because he is rich already. He thinks it's better to buy a gas tank.
Man this is why you are different and above other tech
UA-camrs for me 🎉
Good job 👏❤
You should have lined the settling pond (swimming pool that you dug out) with an impermeable liner before you pumped the water/oil from the well into the pond. The liner would prevent the water/oil mixture from soaking into the farmer's land and contaminating the soil. When you were done you could then pump out the pond and take the water/oil to a recycling facility for proper disposal.
The earth is leaking!??!??!?!
Always has been
woah😮
more like we made the earth leak
😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩
More like the earth is farting 24/7
Can't that gas be used for cooking or something????
not worth running pipes out there and along roads to a place where it can be used.
He explained in the video.
Yeah, it's a waste plugging it up. If someone were to calculate the cost spent plugging it up, it's likely more economically viable to create jobs to collect and sell it.
weren't the oil wells used by Standard oil?
Good video! I've seen numerous stories about this problem, but none about solving it. Also good EcoFlow use-case placement.
amazing use of your platform to bring awareness to this issue
I love how we have to make small sustainable choices everyday so one billionaire motherf***er or company can make more money and leave us to pay for that after :3
Felt like I'm getting a colonoscopy at the beginning there....😂😂
So you're telling me that we've been enduring paper straws and cups when millions of these holes are pumping out greenhouse gases into the atmosphere???
Thanks for plugging that well, and educating the public about it.
This problem would need much more attention! Fixing this alone would have huge benefits!
My brain is screaming thers got to be a easier way to do this. Why cant you throw on a simple cap or just fill the bottom with concrete?
does feel like overkill, even just bentonite clay would be better.
A case of spray foam should do it.
The cap idea won't work, as the gas will seep through the hundreds of feet of soil between the surface and the rocks at the bottom. They also need to do the drilling (a) to ensure no obstructions all the way down, and (b) to inject the cement to seal the hole in the rock layer.
@@stediasse so this metal shaft isnt reaching down to the source any more ?
You will need to plug the source with cement, then restore any natural barriers (clay/shale layer) this will make sure the gas does not leak through the formation making it even a bigger hazard
1:57 RIP Headphones user
I should have seen it before now I am deaf 👍
Warning would've been appreciated
What…. What 👂 😂
What did he say?
So, gaffer tape won’t quite fix everything. Who knew
Awareness is important, Jerry is the best at getting it out with all the data points.
Thanks for showing some light on this huge problem, but ... can't help but think there must be a quicker and cleaner way to plug up these holes.
The numbers don't add up. is it 3,000,00 wells or 120,000 wells? I've heard both and this isn't a rounding error. Also, If the average well released 55 tons a year than we would have 115,000,000 tones of menthane released a year. This is almost twice the total methane released around the world every year. Someone's lying to you.
I agree! math needs double checked there! This is why "global warming" got a bad name, was fear mongering and bad science. I think this is a really cool idea and a relatively easy fix when pumps go dry.
Lets not hinder the effort with bad numbers
Should be a fee anytime a new well is drilled to plug the old wells.
There usually is, but by the time the well is dry, those bonds don't cover the cost of plugging years later.
And my country charges me Green tax for a petrol car? This world that we live in....its insane. And stupid.
Cars like yours is the reason why these wells are needed to be created in the first place.
This is maybe your most impactful video. Thank you!
I’ve heard about these wells before it is absolutely crazy that they’re not required to cap these. I know where I live in Michigan. People have well for drinking water and if you have an old well and it gets replaced with a new one, the old one has to be capped.
Pouring 8000lb of cement and equivalent amount of water is also not looking very environmentally friendly. Can't we just seal the hole-exit?
Lol if it was that easy.
Heard about pressure?
3000kg of CO2 to make the concrete now, deferring the release of 90kg methane a year.
Only big tech youthber left who is not involved in any controversy 😊
Edit- I dont want to jinxx it
Why would you say that!! 🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂
Hope you were at least touching wood when you said it.
remember guys he's not suicidal
The resources to fix the problem are staggering! 3 days of work, all that water, cement, etc... I usually feel encouraged after watching your videos, but this left a pit of despair in my chest. There has to be a better way to fix the problem. Maybe even half solving it with a quick band-aid is better than perfectly fixing one at a time.
8:35 look at that nice red OnePlus cable