Abandoned: Wells left to die - Associated Press Interactive
▻http://interactives.ap.org/2015/abandoned-wells
By JEFF DONN
AP National Writer
It is not clear how many incompletely sealed wells may have leaked - they generally are not monitored as carefully as active wells - but they contain fewer barriers to pent-up petroleum and rupture more easily. The threat to the environment increases with time.
In July 2010, during the BP oil spill, the AP reported that the Gulf was littered with more than 27,000 unused wells, including 14 percent left with just temporary seals.
The AP’s new analysis of federal data shows that the neglect of long-idle wells has intensified since 2010, despite the federal push after the BP accident:
#états-unis #pétrole #off-shore #golfe_du_mexique #énergie #pollution #la_nopuvelle_orléans #katrina