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Stripper wells are low-yielding oil or gas wells in the US, producing less than 10% of the country’s total oil and gas needs. Despite their importance, they are often not cost-effective and abandoned when fossil fuel prices are low. The Stripper Well Consortium was formed in 2000 to research more efficient and cost-effective extraction methods.
A stripper well is a low yielding oil or gas well located in the United States. While these wells had been in operation for decades with little national attention, during the early 21st century, stripper wells became an area of focus due to the United States’ desire to end its foreign dependence on oil. These wells typically produce less than 10 percent of the nation’s total oil and gas needs and less than 20 percent of the fuel produced domestically. Furthermore, they are often not convenient. Since 2000, however, steps have been taken to increase oil and gas production and reduce the operating costs of stripper wells.
As of 2008, there were over 400,000 extraction wells in the United States. Each well produced only ten or fewer barrels of oil per day. Conversely, large companies can produce thousands of barrels a day from a single well. A stripper well, however, extracts oil or gas from the ground at a slow pace, drawing on reserves too small or too difficult to extract for larger companies to find a profit. Often these are wells that once produced more oil or gas, but are on the verge of depletion.
Although stripper wells have low yields, they are still vitally important to the United States as a domestic supplier of oil and gas. In 2006, stripper wells accounted for 18% of the country’s domestically produced oil and gas. Despite their importance to domestic production of fossil fuels, stripper wells are often not cost-effective and are abandoned when the price of fossil fuels is low. A stripper well can be abandoned with up to two-thirds of its assets still intact, and because all extraction equipment is removed and wells sealed, they often remain abandoned because the expense of reopening them is too large to be feasible.
Even a working stripper can cause overspending. These wells often produce large quantities of water that must be pumped and disposed of to reach the oil or gas in the well. Additionally, excess water can slow down fuel extraction, resulting in lower yield and therefore lower profit.
In 2000, the Stripper Well Consortium was formed. Located in Pennsylvania, the consortium seeks to further research into more efficient and cost-effective ways to extract oil from wells. For example, one project involved developing technologies to reduce the cost of transporting water and the time it takes to extract water from these wells.
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