McCleary Unit #001

The McCleary Unit #001, an orphan oil well located in Bath Township, Summit County, Ohio was drilled in June of 1983, by Pine Top Inc. The Well Done Foundation was contacted by the landowners, Bill and Melissa Simmons (and our new friend Rowdy, one of the family horses) because the well began leaking natural gas from the deteriorating wellhead fittings, creating an immediate risk the health and safety of the livestock living on the property. Well Done arrived on location in December of 2021 and began methane quantification. The McCleary Unit #001 orphan well has a quantified greenhouse gas emission with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of over 141,836 metric tons of CO2e (IPCC20), equaling 31,519 automobiles or as many as 2,344,549 trees on 23,445 acres. With your support, those emissions will be permanently eliminated and the surface areas fully restored.

Well Done Foundation’s Mission is: “Plugging orphan oil & gas wells, resulting in immediate elimination of greenhouse gas emissions. Fighting Climate Change, and making a difference #onewellatatime.”

Working closely with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Simmons, Well Done began taking steps to formally adopt the McCleary Unit #001. This process required the landowners taking legal action against the estate of the insolvent Pine Top, Inc. and was completed late in 2023, a full 24-months later. A Plugging Plan was submitted to the ODNR and was approved in February 2024. The Well Done Foundation has continued methane monitoring on the McCleary Unit #001 and the measured methane concentrations are >766,310 ppm of CH4 (methane gas), and is NOW TAKING ACTION to plug the leaking orphan well. The Well Done Foundation was joined by the Youth Climate Initiative (YCI) in early 2023 as a Project Sponsor, along with many other generous Well Done Foundation donors. Due to the proximity to residences, livestock and the amount of methane gas emitting from this orphan well, this is the Well Done Foundation’s top priority and will lead off our 2024 orphan well plugging season. Working together, we ARE making a BIG difference Watch a video of the ghg emissions.