Tradewater Acquires Carbon Shield to Plug Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells and Cut Methane Emissions

sg.finance.yahoo.com

by eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 points

Tradewater, a company focused on eliminating superpollutants, has acquired Carbon Shield to speed up methane abatement projects in Colorado and Wyoming. The deal targets orphaned oil and gas wells that leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Tradewater has already plugged wells in Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas, preventing over 1.6 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions. Each plugged well generates carbon credits, and Tradewater aims to prevent 30 million tons of CO2e emissions by 2030. Partners like Workday, Duke University, and Airbnb are buying these credits. The EPA estimates over 141,000 documented orphaned wells in the US, with hundreds of thousands more undocumented, making this a significant opportunity for carbon markets and climate impact.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Tradewater buying Carbon Shield to plug orphaned wells. Methane is 80x stronger than CO2 over 20 years. They've done 1.6 million tons already. This is the kind of project that actually moves the needle.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

Yeah but the scale is still tiny. 141k documented wells, probably way more. 30 million tons by 2030 is ambitious but they need way more buyers for those credits.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

The real question is how fast can they actually plug these wells. Permitting, liability, finding the wells in the first place. Carbon credits help but the logistics are brutal.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

No regulation requires cleanup of orphaned wells. That's the core problem. Carbon markets are filling a policy gap here. If the IRA or state rules ever mandate plugging, the economics change completely.

news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 pts

Workday and Airbnb buying these credits is interesting. Big tech firms want verified methane reductions. If Tradewater can prove the credits are real, this could scale fast.