Turner Valley - Oil company commits to clean up abandoned wells

Okotoks Western Wheel
July 25, 2006 Vol. 31 No. 51
By Pamela Roth
Staff Reporter

An American oil and gas company has committed to cleaning up at least three abandoned wells in the Turner Valley area.
As of last year, Anadarko discovered it is responsible for three abandoned wells north of town — in which one it has already the lengthy process of being re-abandoned.
After an extensive search at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Darryl Hass, manager of Environment Health and Safety for Anadarko, was able to identify the abandoned well crews are currently working on used to belong to McDougall-Segar Explorations in the early 1920s.
But after several changes in ownership among various oil companies over the years, it was eventually discovered three of the seven wells drilled by the original company in the area now belong to Anadarko.
“We had no idea they were even ours until we got the call from the landowner, so we jumped on it right away,” said Hass. “Why are we doing this? Because it’s the right thing to do.”
Landowner Keith Powell grew up on the land north of town that is home to five abandoned wells, including the well Anadarko is working on, and has been asking gas and oil companies to re-abandon the sites for several years in order for him to sell his land and re-locate north.
So far ConocoPhillips has completed the re-abandoning of one site and is waiting on another, while Anadarko is currently working on another well that was leaking small amounts of methane gas. The owners of the other two abandoned wells is still unknown.
Powell admits Anadarko has been obliging to his request to re-abandon the well on his property, however, he firmly believes all gas and oil companies should take responsibility for cleaning up what is theirs without the landowner having to put up a fuss.
“It’s a headache. You can’t do anything else with the property until the wells are taken care of,” said Powell. “I’d like them all done and cleaned up so I can get rid of it. You can’t even borrow money against the property until it’s cleaned up properly.”
The standards of re-abandoning have changed significantly since the 1920s.
The abandoned well belonging to Anadarko on Powell’s property is 750 metres deep when it was producing 30,000 barrels a day and will be filled entirely with cement once the re-abandoning process is complete.
In order to do so, an entire rig, complete with two crews of five men was brought in July 2 to work around the clock for nearly a month at a cost of approximately $40,000 a day. By the time the project is complete, nearly a quarter of Hass’s operating budget will be spent on re-abandoning one well.
Although there are several orphaned wells still surrounding Turner Valley, area resident Roxanne Walsh is satisfied at least one oil and gas company is taking responsibility for their property.
“I am happy that things are happening here in the area,” said Walsh, who is also a member of the Turner Valley Gas Plant Committee for a Safe Historic Site. “It’s a really good start. There are lots of issues out here besides the gas plant.”
In addition to the re-abandoning of the well, Anadarko will also be taking samples of ground water near the site to make sure it is free of any contaminants.