Crediting emissions saved in plugging oil and gas wells

Payne Institute Research Associate Brad Handler and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how avoided emissions could be credited as carbon offsets and sold on exchanges. Funds totalling $21bn have been allocated in the US’ recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to clean up former industrial and energy sites, including properly retiring some of the estimated 2mn of unplugged abandoned oil and gas (O&G) wells in the US. Those funds can be stretched further if the avoided methane is credited as carbon offsets and sold on carbon exchanges.  January 26, 2022.