Sustainability Strategy for Orphan Well Plugging in Appalachia

The goal of this project is to support the launch of a sustainability initiative focused on plugging orphan wells in Appalachia to reduce methane emissions. Students will conduct additional data analysis on Appalachian well data to quantify the methane emissions potential, identify priority areas for well plugging, provide recommendations for best practices in well plugging, and design a training program outline and advocacy campaign to encourage worker certification and awareness of the environmental importance of this work.

Data Analysis Research

We are developing a new service line of orphan well plugging. These wells, which have no solvent owner of record, can leak oil, gas and other toxic chemicals into our air and water. Plugging these wells will protect our environment, climate and communities while creating well-paying, stable jobs. The State of Ohio has well data available for each of 88 counties and 66 counties have had oil and gas activity. Stonebridge initially obtained data for 32 counties in Excel spreadsheets. We would like to collaborate with students to obtain, organize, and analyze this data. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Familiarizing themselves with orphan well plugging and state of Ohio well data. Pulling down, saving, and organizing the datasets by categories for Ohio counties into Excel. Calculating results and plotting data in graphs and charts. Bonus steps in the process would also include: Recommending priority counties for orphan well plugging. Analyzing orphan wells plugged by the state or in line for state contracts against known orphan well data.

Website Development

Stonebridge is launching a new orphan well plugging service line and needs a website to help promote and sell this line. We would like to work with students to develop a new website that is easy to maintain while providing an appealing interface for users and potential customers. This can be achieved through common site building tools such as Wix, Webflow, and WordPress. This will involve several different steps for the students, including: Researching different site-building tools and their associated advantages / disadvantages. Conducting a needs analysis to determine which platform is most suitable. Building a website, with our assistance in providing the content. Providing training on updating and maintaining the website. Bonus steps in the process would also include: Testing prototypes with customers and refining ideas with feedback.