Start your day by checking in, grabbing coffee, and connecting with fellow attendees before the sessions begin.

Our Chair will open the conference with brief remarks on the mission and well plugging efforts and marginal well management across the Northern Appalachian region.

How counties can drive orphan and idle well remediation while ensuring long-term community benefits

Strategies for engaging local communities, educating the public, and fostering cross-party support for remediation programs.

This opening session will take stock of where things stand today—from public dollars to reactivation pathways and carbon credits—and why the question of how we pay for plugging is more urgent than ever. Designed to frame the day’s conversations, this session offers a clear-eyed view of the current funding landscape and the trade-offs that come with each option.

Enjoy snacks and refreshments while networking with peers and exploring our booths and vendor displays.

In 2025, new approaches to repurposing orphan and idle wells are gaining traction, offering the potential to turn legacy liabilities into profitable assets. Northern Appalachia’s dense well inventory, layered geology, and existing infrastructure present a unique testing ground for scalable, market-driven solutions. Explore emerging repurposing opportunities across the region and examine where technical innovation and commercial viability are beginning to align.

This session explores how carbon credit registries and new protocols can create market-based pathways to address orphaned and abandoned wells. The discussion will cover methodologies for generating and verifying credits, and how these credits can be sold to finance plugging activities. We’ll also examine emerging opportunities such as data-driven platforms and credit markets that make well remediation both scalable and investable.

Accurate identification and assessment of orphan and idle wells is essential for effective plugging and remediation programs. Case studies will highlight how advanced survey systems are being applied to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and strengthen environmental outcomes.

Exploring how orphan well methane and P&A liabilities can be converted into carbon credit assets to drive investment in Appalachia’s decarbonization.

As traditional funding sources face uncertainty, innovative financing models are gaining traction for well plugging. From performance-based partnerships to emerging carbon markets, states and operators are exploring alternative paths to sustain remediation efforts. This session examines the growing toolbox of funding strategies.

Join facilitated roundtable discussions on a topic of your choice — a chance to share feedback, identify key challenges, and help shape industry recommendations moving forward.

1. Measuring Methane from Non-Producing Wells at Multiple Scales
   Accurately quantifying methane emissions from non-producing oil and gas wells requires coordinated approaches across different measurement scales. This session will examine methods for combining ground-based and aerial surveys to detect emissions, with a focus on integrating data for more comprehensive assessments.
   Zachary Mailhot, McGill University
    
2. Monitoring Wells for Methane Insights
   Monitoring data from wells can reveal patterns in methane migration across nearby sites. This session explores how integrated monitoring supports methane measurement, detection, and risk assessment across mixed wellfields.
   Lois Bower-Bjornson, Clean Air Council

Enjoy snacks and refreshments while networking with peers and exploring our booths and vendor displays.

New research reveals a multibillion dollar gap between plugging liabilities and current financial assurances in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. This session examines the scale of the problem and proposes state and federal reforms including production-based fees, independent plugging funds, and stronger bonding requirements. It also explores how these solutions can support job creation, improve oversight, and reduce long-term risk across the region.

Recent research has revealed the scale of undocumented wells across Pennsylvania, with major consequences for emissions tracking, liability, and cleanup planning. Learn how new detection methods are helping to reshape state priorities, inform funding decisions, and reveal overlooked risks across the region. The findings have direct implications for regulators, operators, and anyone involved in remediation strategy or environmental compliance.

Start the second day with coffee, light snacks, and a chance to reconnect with fellow attendees before day begins

Our Chair will reflect on key insights from yesterday, outline today’s focus areas, and highlight opportunities to align priorities across the region

Northern Appalachia is at a pivotal moment as federal funds reshape how states approach orphan and idle well remediation. This keynote will share how regional leaders are turning funding into action, setting priorities, and building accountable, results-driven programs.

Keynote speaker to be announced 

As orphan well inventories grow across Northern Appalachia and federal funding creates new opportunities, state programs face the challenge of scaling decommissioning efforts while managing limited budgets and tight timelines. This session examines practical strategies for maximizing program efficiency without compromising safety or environmental protection, including data-driven prioritization frameworks, streamlined planning approaches, lessons from across the region.

Locating orphan and undocumented wells remains one of the most persistent challenges in the Northern Appalachian region. Incomplete historical records and fragmented datasets have hindered coordinated plugging efforts and accurate emissions assessments.
To address these gaps, new approaches are leveraging open data, machine learning, geospatial tools, and local knowledge to build more comprehensive well inventories. These methods not only improve detection, but also help prioritize sites based on environmental, health, and equity risks.

Enjoy snacks and refreshments while networking with peers and exploring our booths and vendor displays.

In Northern Appalachia, tens of thousands of low-production and marginal wells continue to emit methane at rates disproportionate to their output. As carbon markets evolve, new interest is emerging in methane reductions at these sites and generating creditable offsets.
This panel explores the technical, regulatory, and market challenges of creating verifiable carbon credits from marginal well interventions, and how these credits could help fund early cleanup efforts. 
 

Isotope geochemistry is providing new tools to identify the origin of stray combustible gas near abandoned and orphaned wells. By distinguishing between thermogenic and biogenic sources and tracing migration pathways, researchers and regulators are improving their ability to pinpoint sources of stray gas, assess well integrity, and guide mitigation strategies.

Join our sponsors in welcoming you to our Networking Lunch

Learn how the U.S. Department of the Interior is strategically allocating federal funding to address orphan and idle wells. This session will explore interagency coordination, priority-setting strategies, and real-world results from funded projects.

Effective plugging is at the core of addressing orphan and idle wells, and ongoing research is driving innovation in materials and methods. Advances in sealant performance, placement techniques, and long-term monitoring are helping to ensure well integrity and reduce environmental risk. This session will highlight recent laboratory and field research into plugging technologies, explore the challenges of scaling new approaches, and examine how emerging practices can improve outcomes for state and federal programs.

Join facilitated roundtable discussions on a topic of your choice. This is a chance to share feedback, identify key challenges, and help shape industry recommendations.

• Engaging Communities in Methane Monitoring and Risk Assessment
  Explore how public consultation, community-based monitoring, and transparent data sharing can strengthen methane detection and risk assessment strategies. Discussion will highlight effective outreach approaches and the role of local input in shaping monitoring efforts across diverse wellfields. 
  Alejandro Lopez, Carnegie Mellon University

• The Role of Geologic Data and Expertise in Guiding Safe and Cost-Effective Plugging
  How geoscience intersects with regulatory, financial, and community priorities in orphan well programs. Opportunities to leverage subsurface knowledge for repurposing, risk reduction, and long-term monitoring.
  Amy Spaziani, Spaziani GeoServices

Enjoy snacks and refreshments while networking with peers and exploring our booths and vendor displays.

Open Forum: Advancing Collaboration and Industry Solutions

Use this time to ask questions, share challenges, and generate ideas for greater industry alignment. This open-format session encourages discussion on gaps, opportunities, and forward-looking strategies that can move well remediation efforts ahead across the region. Bring your insights and help shape the conversation.

Brief reflections and comments on how we can continue the conversation throughout the year, collaborate and action across the Northern Appalachian region.