Impending Risk of Orphaning: The number of oil and gas wells onshore U.S.
When trying to describe the scale of the risk of wells being orphaned to state authorities for final decommissioning with public fund, people often cite a range of numbers from under a million to over 5 million based on diverse meaning and sources. This paper undertakes a comprehensive and systematic review of documented and indicated wells drilled onshore in the U.S. to create a more clear and authoritative explanation of the number of wells and their status.