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The Reserve is developing the U.S. Early Plugging of Marginal Oil and Gas Wells Protocol. The protocol will address GHG emission reductions associated with the early plugging of marginal, productive, and economically viable oil and gas wells in the United States.

Scoping webinar

The Reserve will hold a scoping webinar to discuss the protocol concept and cover key considerations for the protocol development process.

U.S. Early Plugging of Marginal Oil and Gas Wells Protocol Scoping Webinar
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
10:00 am – 11:00 am PST
Register here

Workgroup Process

Statement of Interest

The protocol is being developed through the Reserve’s multi-stakeholder workgroup process. The Reserve strives to create a well-balanced workgroup consisting of industry representatives, project developers, environmental NGOs, verification bodies, independent consultants, academia, and government bodies.

Interested stakeholders must complete the Statement of Interest form by Friday, November 28, 2025.

• Statement of Interest form

Local Stakeholder Engagement

The Reserve seeks to engage stakeholders throughout the protocol development process to identify and incorporate applicable laws, norms, and conditions to the oil and gas industry in the US. Local stakeholder engagement also ensures that the protocol is aligned with legal, environmental, and social safeguards. We invite stakeholders interested in the protocol development process to complete the Local Engagement form below. This ensures you’ll receive notifications for public engagement opportunities during protocol development.

• Local Engagement form

Members of the public may participate in the development process as “observers.” Observers may attend workgroup meetings in listen-only mode, submit written comments on the draft methodology when it is available for public comment, and attend the public webinar(s) held during the public comment period.

Development Timeline

The following timeline has tentative dates and will be updated as the protocol development process unfolds.

Partial Technical Support

Partial technical support was provided by ClimateWells, in collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Institute, EcoEngineers, and Netherland, Sewell & Associates.