Environmental Innovators of America Orphaned well retirement · Land restoration

Non-profit · United States

There are abandoned oil wells all over this country.
We retire them.

Environmental Innovators of America accelerates the retirement of abandoned and orphaned oil wells — plugging and capping the wellbore, cleaning up the chemicals left behind, and salvaging the rusting equipment above ground.

Report a well Veteran opportunities
SITE CONDITION — AS FOUND FIG. 01 UNCONTROLLED METHANE ORPHANED WELLHEAD NO RESPONSIBLE OPERATOR SALVAGEABLE STEEL BORE — UNSEALED

Mission

EIA is a non-profit group focused on improving the nation's environment by maintaining and improving the land — specifically land that was used for oil drilling. We're on a mission to accelerate the retirement of abandoned, or orphaned, oil wells by capping or plugging them, cleaning up any holdover chemicals, and salvaging and reselling abandoned and rusting equipment.

01

What an orphaned well is

When an oil or gas well stops producing, someone is supposed to plug it and restore the site. An orphaned well is one where that never happened and there is no solvent operator left to hold responsible — the company dissolved, went bankrupt, or simply walked away. The well stays in the ground. The equipment stays on the surface.

These sites do not stabilise on their own. They get worse, and the cost of dealing with them rises the longer they sit.

  • A

    Methane escapes

    An unsealed wellbore can vent methane straight to atmosphere — a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 over the near term.

  • B

    Groundwater is exposed

    A deteriorating bore is a direct channel between deep formations and the aquifers that farms and households draw from.

  • C

    Chemicals stay behind

    Residual crude, produced water, brine and tank sludge remain on the surface, contaminating soil and running off in weather.

  • D

    The land is unusable

    Rusting pumpjacks, tanks and pipework make acreage hazardous and worthless to the landowner who is stuck with it.

02

What we do about it

Three operations on every site, in order.

01

Plug & cap the well

Cement plugs set at the depths that isolate each formation, sealing the bore so nothing migrates up it — no methane to air, no fluid into groundwater. The wellhead is cut off below grade and capped.

02

Clean up what was left

Holdover chemicals get characterised and removed — residual hydrocarbons, produced water, brine, tank bottoms. Contaminated soil is remediated so the acreage is safe to stand on and safe to use.

03

Salvage, don't scrap

Pumpjacks, tanks, pipe and fittings are recovered, and the serviceable steel is resold rather than left to rust. Recovered value goes straight back into retiring the next well.

The salvage step is what makes the model work: every site that still has steel on it helps pay for the next site that does not.

03

How a well gets sealed

Plugging is not pouring concrete down a hole. Plugs are set at specific depths to isolate specific formations, and the work is documented for the state regulator.

PLUGGED & ABANDONED — SCHEMATIC FIG. 02 GRADE SURFACE PLUG CASING CUT BELOW GRADE INTERMEDIATE PLUG ISOLATES AQUIFER BASE PLUG ISOLATES PRODUCING ZONE FRESHWATER AQUIFER PRODUCING FORMATION

  1. Locate and assess

    Find the wellbore, pull whatever records exist, and establish depth, casing condition and which formations the bore crosses. Undocumented wells often have to be located in the field.

  2. Make the site safe

    Control any active leak, make the surface safe to work on, and get equipment in without tearing up the landowner's ground.

  3. Set the plugs

    Cement plugs placed to isolate the producing zone, then the freshwater aquifer, then the surface — so there is no path up the bore for gas or fluid.

  4. Cut, cap, and remediate

    Casing cut off below grade and capped. Chemicals removed, contaminated soil dealt with, equipment pulled for salvage.

  5. Restore and document

    Surface regraded and revegetated, and the work documented for the state regulator and the landowner. The site stops being a liability.

04

Empowering our veterans

We aim to employ and target Veteran owned businesses across the United States to help us reach our goals.

Our nation's Veteran community brings to the civilian workforce high level skills that the oil and gas industry values. Discipline under pressure, heavy equipment, logistics, safety culture, working a plan in bad conditions — this is the same work, in a different uniform.

Veteran-owned business?

We want you on our contractor list. Tell us your capabilities and where you operate.

Register your business

05

Ways to work with us

Landowners

There's a well on my land

If you have an idle or abandoned well on your property and no operator to call, tell us where it is. Location and photographs are enough to start.

Veteran-owned firms

We can do this work

Plugging crews, earthmoving, hauling, environmental services, salvage. Send capabilities, certifications and your operating radius.

Operators & industry

We have sites or equipment

Wells to transfer, equipment to donate, or crews and expertise to lend. There is more of this work than any one organisation can absorb.

Funders

We want to fund retirements

Well retirement is measurable, finite work: a well is either sealed or it isn't. Get in touch about funding specific sites.

06

Get in touch

Reporting a well, offering capabilities, or asking about the veterans program — this reaches us either way.

Email
[email protected]
Coverage
United States, nationwide
Status
Non-profit organization

Add your mailing address, phone and EIN before launch — see README.

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