Tradewater has acquired Carbon Shield, a Colorado-based company that plugs actively leaking orphaned oil and gas wells, expanding Tradewater’s methane abatement operations into Colorado and Wyoming. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition gives Tradewater access to Carbon Shield’s established relationships, technical expertise and pipeline of orphaned wells awaiting remediation. It also supports Tradewater’s broader strategy of developing projects that permanently prevent the release of methane and other high-impact climate pollutants.
Tradewater began developing orphaned oil and gas well projects in 2023. The company has since completed projects across Illinois, Indiana and Kansas that it says have prevented emissions equivalent to more than 1.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
By acquiring Carbon Shield, Tradewater can expand its work into additional regions while accelerating the identification, assessment and plugging of leaking wells.
Orphaned oil and gas wells are wells that no longer have a financially responsible owner available to maintain, operate or properly close them. Many continue to release methane and other pollutants after production has ended.
Methane is a relatively short-lived greenhouse gas, but it has a much stronger warming effect than carbon dioxide over shorter periods. Tradewater said methane is approximately 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe, making reductions in methane emissions an important tool for slowing near-term warming.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than 141,000 orphaned wells have been documented nationwide. Tradewater said hundreds of thousands of additional wells may remain undocumented.
There are also approximately 3.9 million abandoned oil and gas wells across the United States that could eventually become orphaned if their owners are unable or unwilling to fund proper closure and remediation.
These wells can release methane, volatile organic compounds and other pollutants that may affect air quality, groundwater, ecosystems and nearby communities. They can also limit how landowners use affected properties.
Tradewater identifies actively leaking wells and coordinates the engineering, permitting and field work required to plug them permanently. After remediation, landowners can regain usable land while the source of ongoing emissions is eliminated.
The environmental benefits from each project can be quantified and converted into carbon credits. Those credits can then be purchased by companies and institutions seeking to support verified climate projects as part of broader emissions-reduction strategies.
Tradewater said the carbon markets can help finance well-plugging projects that might otherwise lack a clear source of funding. The company positions the work as a way to address emissions that are measurable, preventable and capable of being eliminated using existing technologies.
As part of the acquisition, Taylor Heffner, Carbon Shield’s former vice president of operations, has joined Tradewater’s project team.
Heffner is a petroleum engineer with more than a decade of experience in Colorado’s oil and gas industry. His background includes production engineering, development engineering, well ownership and operations, and plugging and abandonment work.
His experience will help Tradewater evaluate potential projects, coordinate field operations and expand its relationships with landowners, contractors, regulators and other participants in Colorado and Wyoming.
The Carbon Shield acquisition complements Tradewater’s other work focused on superpollutants, including legacy refrigerants and halon gases.
Tradewater collects and destroys old refrigerants containing ozone-depleting substances and high-global-warming-potential chemicals. These materials may remain stored in old appliances, cylinders and cooling systems long after they are no longer needed.
Without intervention, the gases can leak into the atmosphere during equipment disposal, servicing or storage. Tradewater’s projects collect the materials and arrange for their permanent destruction at approved facilities.
The company has eliminated more than 11.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions since its founding. Tradewater is targeting the prevention of at least 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 2030.
Expanding its orphaned well program will be an important part of reaching that target. Tradewater believes methane projects can deliver faster climate benefits while complementing longer-term efforts to decarbonize transportation, industry, energy and buildings.
The company has worked with organizations including Workday, Duke University and Airbnb, which have incorporated superpollutant projects into their climate strategies.
Tradewater is a certified B Corporation and develops carbon credits backed by third-party verification and issued through established registries. The company said its approach is intended to provide buyers with greater confidence in the measurable impact, accuracy and additionality of each project.
The Carbon Shield acquisition reflects growing interest in climate projects that address methane emissions from abandoned infrastructure. It also gives Tradewater a larger operational footprint as it seeks to scale well-plugging activity across the United States.
KEY QUOTES:
“Methane is the make-or-break gas for climate action, and orphaned oil and gas wells are an uncontrolled source of methane that can be mitigated through known technologies and the carbon markets. Tradewater is committed to rapidly scaling this important work. The acquisition of Carbon Shield enables us to do just that.”
Kirsten Dueck, CEO of Tradewater
“We’re thrilled to welcome Taylor to our project team. Taylor’s enthusiasm, deep experience and mission-driven focus will have an immediate impact on our work.”
Nicholas Cade, Senior Director of Supply Team Partnerships and Operations at Tradewater
“I’m excited to join the Tradewater team and lend my expertise to the work of preventing methane and other harmful emissions leaking from orphaned oil and gas wells.”
Taylor Heffner, Former Vice President of Operations at Carbon Shield
