From tropical storms to zombie wells

By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

Hello!

Today’s newsletter focuses on extreme weather and its potential human-driven causes as we dive into the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ernesto in the United States and the landslides in India, back to the south of the U.S. to talk about zombie wells – trust me it’ll all connect and make sense as it all leads to one simple equation. Fossils fuels equal extreme weather.

The tropical storm that whirled away from the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as it strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane, bringing torrential rains and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power..

Storm Ernesto was about 175 miles (280 km) northwest of the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan as it crawled to the northwest, packing winds of about 75 miles per hour (120 km per hour), the National Hurricane Center said in advisory.

More flood-producing rains were falling on the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the hurricane center said, warning that floodwaters were covering some streets and causing mudslides.

Also on my radar today:

A drone view shows a bridge submerged by the flooded La Plata River in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ernesto in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo 

Speaking of extreme rainfall, a team of international scientists found that heavy rain was made about 10% stronger by human-caused climate change which triggered the landslides that killed more than 200 people in India’s southern state of Kerala last month.

Something to highlight in the study by the World Weather Attribution group was its warning that one-day bursts of rain in Kerala will become another 4% heavier if the world does not move away from fossil fuels and global warming reaches 2 degrees Celsius.

It’s shocking as the landslides on July 30 in the coastal state’s Wayanad region were its worst disaster since 2018, when floods killed more than 400 people. Adding 4% more rain would only bring more tragedy.

In keeping with the topic of fossil fuels, the Railroad Commission (RRC), the regulatory body that oversees oil and gas operations in Texas, is under scrutiny for failing to properly cover so-called zombie wells, according to oil well control specialist Hawk Dunlap.

Reuters U.S. climate and energy correspondent Valerie Volcovici takes us on a journey to a sprawling ranch in Pecos County, Texas, where she spoke to Dunlap about the zombie well problem that is wreaking havoc in the community due to a flurry of oil well blow-outs and leaks, in an epidemic he says is being caused by low-quality plugging jobs left behind by operators and their contractors and approved by the RRC.

Why is this a wider climate-related issue? Well, the rising pressure pushing up from beneath the ground – due to the billions of gallons of wastewater injected back into reservoirs for disposal – causes the badly plugged wells to burst.

That waste produced water – laden with toxic chemicals like radium and boron – threatens local aquifers and vegetation. All the drilling, pumping, and reinjection has also been said to cause the earth to rise and subside in places, triggering quakes, according to the landowners and activists.

So, is the problem just old oil wells? Unfortunately, oil drillers are still working on new wells in the Permian overlying Texas and New Mexico, accumulating around 24 million barrels daily of “produced water” – the salty mixture that comes up alongside oil and gas, according to Laura Capper with energy advisory EnergyMakers.

Between 40-55% of this water is injected in local disposal wells, with much of the rest reused for oil operations, she said.

“It is this perfect storm in the Permian with all this produced water, earthquakes and orphan wells,” said Adam Peltz, director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s Energy Program.

Bales of hard-to-recycle plastic waste are seen piled up at Renewlogy Technologies in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. REUTERS/George Frey

This week, U.S. President Joe Biden more than doubled the volume of solar cells that are allowed to be imported tariff-free to help domestic panel producers that rely on components made overseas.

The tariffs were first imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018 under section 201 of the 1974 trade act to protect the small U.S. solar manufacturing sector against competition from low-priced imports made mainly in Asia.

 A couple stands under a tree in the shade during a heatwave in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. REUTERS/Antonio Cascio

I’m no fan of oranges – too acidic for my fragile constitution – but I’m sure some of you are and may be a little disappointed to see today’s spotlight story, as Sicily’s orange farmers warned that searing heat and drought risked wrecking this year’s production. 

The farmers are calling for help from regional and national authorities to save their business after months of below-average rainfall.

“Sicily is experiencing one of the worst seasons imaginable from a climactic point of view … the risk of desertification has now become concrete,” two associations of local orange growers said in a joint paper.

A water shortage is affecting central areas of the Mediterranean island and hurting its orange cultivation, which accounts for 65% of Italy’s output of the fruit.

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