Climate Transformed Ventures

This is a map of more than 120,000 documented orphan wells eligible for closure funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (“IIJA”). These wells, which have no solvent owner of record, can leak oil, gas, and other toxic chemicals into our air and water. The EDF estimate of 3.7mm includes documented and estimates of undocumented wells

Climate Transformed Ventures (CTV) is a methane infrastructure and origination platform company that leverages government funding and private capital to cap orphaned oil wells across the United States and Canada.

An orphaned oil well has no solvent owner of record, leaving the responsibility of capping in the hands of state and federal governments.

150 years of hydrocarbon speculation has left a toxic legacy that continuously leaks methane

 
  • 3.7 million orphaned and idle oil and natural gas wells exist in North America. According to McGill University, >7m tonnes CO2E of direct annual methane leakage in the United States alone.

  • While CO2 remains in the atmosphere much longer, methane is 25

times more potent than CO2.

The scale of the orphaned well solution could require > $200 billion of project finance over >20 years

 
  • Each orphaned well requires capex of $50,000 $150,000. (3)

  • In 2023, 226 were capped in Pennsylvania, 140 in Oklahoma, 68 in Colorado (4). Pennsylvania has an estimate 250,000 Orphaned Wells (4).

  • US government IIJA program has earmarked $4.7 billion to begin to address orphaned wells.

Our Goals

  • We aim to cap 1000 wells by 2026 and 2000 wells/year after that through managing our operational partners, working with state governments to provide scalable capping solutions via land rejuvenation, and the development of methane abatement credits
  • Launch a methane abatement credit ecosystem involving the primary development and distribution of the highest quality industrial credits based on scientifically rigorous methodologies.
  • To cap 10,000 wells by 2030, produce the highest quality methane abatement credits, and play our role in solving the methane scourge left by the legacy of 150 years of oil exploration.

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