The Reserve’s Early Plugging of Marginal Oil and Gas Wells Protocol provides guidance to account for, report, and verify greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions associated with the early decommissioning of marginal, productive, and economically viable oil and gas wells.

The Reserve’s modular protocol format consists of the Early Plugging of Marginal Oil and Gas Wells Protocol, which contains globally applicable guidance, and jurisdiction modules, which contain location-specific requirements. The U.S. Module provides additional eligibility requirements specific to the U.S., including the performance standard test and legal requirement test.

The protocol addresses methane emissions during the production process at marginally producing oil and gas wells. Using 100-year global warming potential (GWP) values, methane has a GWP 28 times greater than CO₂. Carbon crediting can help drive immediate and significant reductions of these GHGs.

The United States had more than 918,400 productive oil and gas wells in 2024, yet just 20 percent of the wells accounted for more than two-thirds of domestic oil and natural gas production. Lower-producing wells have higher emission profiles and account for approximately 50 percent of the sector’s emissions. Many of these wells have been producing for more than 50 years and, absent intervention, could continue extracting oil and gas for decades. The protocol incentivizes the early decommissioning of economically viable marginal wells, leaving their remaining hydrocarbons unextracted.

As the world transitions to a carbon-neutral economy and existing wells continue to age, the number of wells that need to be plugged will likely increase. Accelerating the remediation of marginal wells in the near term could result in immediate positive environmental impacts on the quality of water, air, climate, and human ecosystem health with the added societal benefits such as the well-being of nearby communities, job creation, and economic stimulation.

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Modular protocol structure

Under the Reserve’s modular protocol structure, each project type is governed by a single protocol that establishes fundamental requirements applicable globally. Location-specific considerations, such as regulatory alignment and performance standard test, are covered in jurisdiction modules for the protocol.

This structure enables more efficient expansion of the Reserve’s high-quality carbon crediting program into new jurisdictions while maintaining rigorous, locally-informed standards.

Effective immediately, stakeholders can propose the development of additional jurisdiction modules for this protocol via our New Jurisdiction Module form and can submit projects under protocols anywhere in the world, including in jurisdictions where a jurisdiction module has not yet been developed. This early submittal allows project developers to establish a submittal date, signal interest in the development of the jurisdiction module, and, once the jurisdiction module is approved, proceed immediately to request listing and registration.

➡️More on our modular protocol structure