An orphaned well can be seen in Shawnee Township on Thursday before the plugging process began.
Cade Higgins | The Lima News
SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — An oil well is in the process of getting plugged.
The well, classified as an orphan well, was expected to be at least a century old and hadn’t functioned in quite some time. It was believed to be drilled during the region’s oil boom.
“When wells are orphan like this, we go in and plug them so that the oil doesn’t leak onto the surface and into the drinking water,” said Kirsten Ebright, a mineral resource inspector with the Ohio Division of Oil & Gas.
The well is located along Zurmehly Road, near its curve and within walking distance of Shawnee schools.
The process includes pulling tubing out, flushing with water and pouring cement in different plugs. The first focus is on welding a wellhead to have control to pull out the tubing.
“It’s a preventative measure,” Ebright said. “As old as the wells are, at some point there is a possibility of the water being contaminated or the casing breaking down, causing oil to be pushed back up onto land.”
The work being done is not expected to be distracting to the neighboring houses. The process is expected to take at least two weeks.
The well is a legacy pollution site that the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law aims to address, according to the Department of the Interior. The law allocates nearly $5 billion for well-site plugging, remediation and restoration activities on federal Tribal, state and private lands.
Reach Cade Higgins at 567-242-0351
