Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act amends the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to create a new federal research program focused on abandoned oil and gas wells. It directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a program within 120 days to improve detection, plugging, and environmental remediation of these wells, which are unplugged wells no longer used in oil and gas operations.
Who Benefits and How
Environmental and public health interests benefit from improved strategies to address methane emissions and groundwater contamination from abandoned wells. Research institutions, universities, and National Laboratories gain access to $162.5 million in authorized funding over five years (FY2026-2030) for research partnerships. The energy sector may benefit from technologies that allow repurposing abandoned wells for geothermal power or carbon storage.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Energy must establish and administer this new program, coordinating with federal and state agencies, universities, and private sector partners. Federal taxpayers would fund the program at approximately $30-35 million annually if appropriations are enacted.
Key Provisions
- Defines "abandoned well" as an unplugged well from oil/gas operations with no anticipated future use
- Requires research into remote sensing, LiDAR, optical gas imaging, and magnetic survey technologies to locate undocumented wells
- Funds studies on how well characteristics (age, depth, geology, construction) affect methane emissions
- Supports development of improved plugging techniques, including low-carbon cement alternatives
- Explores repurposing wells for geothermal energy or carbon capture and storage
- Authorizes $30 million in FY2026, increasing to $35 million by FY2030 (total: $162.5 million)
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill aims to address the issue of abandoned wells by establishing a research, development, and demonstration program led by the Secretary of Energy. The program focuses on improving data collection, plugging and remediation techniques, and mitigating environmental impacts associated with these wells.
Key Policy Areas
Energy, Environment
Primary Purpose
The bill aims to address the issue of abandoned wells by establishing a research, development, and demonstration program led by the Secretary of Energy. The program focuses on improving data collection, plugging and remediation techniques, and mitigating environmental impacts associated with these wells.
Policy Domains
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Luján (for himself and Mr. Cramer) introduced the following …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and …
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Relevant Federal and State agencies, institutions of higher education, National Laboratories, private sector entities involved in oil and gas operations
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Energy
- "the_administrator"
- → None
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The bill may be cited as the Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act.
This act establishes a research, development, and demonstration program to address the issue of abandoned wells.
This act establishes a research, development, and demonstration program to address the issue of abandoned wells.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology