Sir Greg Knight – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Greg Knight on 2014-03-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many old oil and gas wells there are in the UK for which no firm or company is responsible; and how such wells are monitored for leaks.

Michael Fallon

A recently published paper by the ReFINE research consortium estimates that there are between fifty and a hundred historic wells in the UK for which no responsible person can be identified.

Oil and gas wells in the UK which have no further usefulness are treated to ensure the retention of any fluids within the well. The bore is sealed with concrete plugs, while the well head it cut off below ground level and a steel cap welded to the top. The abandonment operations are subject to scrutiny by the HSE and the independent well examiner, and must comply with relevant industry standards. The site will then be restored to the appropriate standard prescribed by planning conditions.

Wells are not monitored after the completion of the abandonment and site restoration operations. The ReFINE paper confirms that there are no pollution issues associated with historic oil and gas wells in the UK.