File:Frackers dont clean up.jpg: Difference between revisions

[https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/13/privatize-profit-socialize-mess-abandoned-fracking-wells-

left-spewing-climate 'Privatize the Profit, Socialize the Mess': Abandoned Fracking Wells Left Spewing

Climate-Killing Methane Nationwide]

Fracking oil/gas production, boom and bust

What comes with 'the bust'?

Devastating new report from the New York Times details how as fracking companies are going out of business they are leaving behind unsecured wells spewing methane and other gases into the atmosphere and paying out the same executives that drove them into bankruptcy huge bonuses—drawing condemnation from activists and climate advocates.

"Frackers don't clean up after themselves," tweeted 350.org founder Bill McKibben.

Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. fracking industry was struggling amid debt obligations, the rise of renewable energy sources, and a price war with overseas oil producers... The cost of the cleanup, noted journalist Jake Bernstein, is prohibitive—and companies don't appear to be taking it seriously.

"Chesapeake Energy, which declared bankruptcy last month after paying out executive bonuses, has potential cleanup costs of $1.4 billion," said Bernstein. "Chesapeake's filings show that it has set aside only $41 million in bonds to cover the cleanup of its 6,800 wells."

In states like New Mexico, Texas, regions in the Permian Basin and other high production fracking areas, concerns are mounting as the oil patch takes historic hits.

Production has been going up, but it's turned down.

Full-costs of production are not taken into account, whether externality costs of climate impacts or costs of clean-up during and after production.

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• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/12/climate/oil-fracking-bankruptcy-methane-executive-pay.html

• https://carbontracker.org/

• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/business/economy/chesapeake-energy-bankruptcy.html

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