Oxford launches awareness program on abandoned gas well dangers

After a massive explosion leveled parts of downtown Wheatley in August 2021, provincial and municipal officials have become more proactive in educating the public about the dangers posed by old, abandoned oil and gas wells.

Article content

This week, Oxford County announced it’s launching its own public awareness campaign about the risks these wells pose while promoting a provincial program available to help Ontario landowners identify and plug these hazards.

Oxford County is using $105,000 in funding from the provincial government for its awareness campaign, which will include key educational materials for the public. The funding will also help the county with emergency response supports, such as road-closure trailers, supplies for emergency centers, and the development of “hazard-specific emergency response plans” with area municipalities for these wells.

“The Government of Ontario is supporting municipalities in taking a proactive approach to this issue,” Ryan Hall, the county’s paramedic chief, in a release. “Through public education and awareness, we can help landowners identify whether they could have an abandoned well on their property, understand the risks, and take the proper measures to ensure the safety of themselves, their family and the public.”

Article content

Across Ontario, there are roughly 27,000 records of oil and gas wells that are no longer in use — and many of them are found on privately owned lands in Southwestern Ontario. Data from the Ontario Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Library indicates there are an estimated 500 abandoned oil and gas wells in Oxford County. The resources library’s website does offer a searchable map to help check abandoned locations of well areas, Oxford officials noted.

There are a number of signs that could indicate the possibility of an abandoned well, especially if the property is located in a former — or current — oil- and gas-producing region, including:

• farm properties with multiple farmsteads, abandoned land or structures, uncultivated sites or sinking land;
• areas with different or stunted vegetation, compacted trails, oil residue or abandoned drilling pads;
• areas with stained soil and vegetation die-offs from leaking wells;
• a rotten egg smell, which can be caused by hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous gas; and
• natural gas bubbling or oil odors in well water.

Article content

Abandoned wells can pose enormous risks to human health and the environment, including:

• poisoning from hydrogen sulfide released by a leaking well;
• flammable or combustible environments inside buildings caused by the release of methane;
• tripping or collision hazards posed by sinking ground over caverns;
• fire or spills caused by a blowout, which is the uncontrolled release of oil or gas; and
• contaminated soil or groundwater.

Landowners in Oxford County who believe they may have abandoned property on their property are urged not to investigate themselves. Regulatory standards, Oxford officials noted, require an abandoned well to be plugged by a professional contractor.

In Wheatley, a Chatham-Kent town roughly 200 kilometers southwest of Woodstock, the explosion — lined to hydrogen sulfide seeing up from old, uncapped petroleum wells — destroyed two buildings, damaged nearly a dozen more and injured 20 people. Almost three years after the blast, the community will still recover, with the last of the explosion-damaged buildings being torn down this month. The total cost of the explosion has now eclipsed $20 million, with the province picking up about 80 percent of the tab.

Article content

The provincial government, working to address the issue, also announced a $23.6-million investment last year to identify and plug old oil and gas wells.

Oxford landowners who have abandoned assets on their properties may qualify for financial support through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Abandoned Works Program. If a landowner abandoned suspects an property well on their property, they should contact the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Petroleum Operations Section via email at [email protected] or by phone at 519-873-4634.

Find more information about legacy oil and gas wells, emergency planning and other resources, visit www.oxford72hours.ca.

Article content