This report presents an overview of U.S. government policies on reducing greenhouse gas (methane) emissions from hundreds of thousands of orphaned oil and gas wells in the United States that have been abandoned due to bankruptcy of oil producers, and discusses the background of the problem and structural factors in the oil industry through the activities of an environmental non-profit organization in Montana.

The U.S. federal government is making a large government investment in plugging orphaned oil and gas wells in 2021. An interagency project within the federal government has been established to systematically advance the plugging of these wells.

The Well Done Foundation in Montana, a non-profit organization with a neutral stance, is the moderator and driving force behind the plugging policy, as there has historically been distrust of the oil industry by state and other regulators and landowners in the issue of orphaned wells.