International Biochar Initiative Educational Webinar Series:
Biochar Use Capping Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells
April 18, 2020 | 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM ET
Abandoned oil and gas wells may number close to 29 million globally with more than 3 million in the US alone. Many of these are emitting significant amounts of methane, estimated at 2.5M tons per year. Due to methane’s outsized impact on climate change, there is increased urgency to reduce these drastically and rapidly.
Recent pilot projects in the US have demonstrated that biochar can be used to both cap wells and remediate toxins that often contaminate ecosystems around wells. Wells provide a safe, beneficial, long-term sequestration opportunity for biochar. Using biochar to cap wells can also significantly reduce the amount of concrete, the traditional material of choice for capping, thereby further reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to the production of concrete. Using a material such as biochar may also provide a more resilient cap that is less susceptible to degradation caused by seismic activity.
Mark Mersman, a co-founder of OFX Solutions, will outline the process, climate and environmental benefits as well as future possibilities for using biochar to cap abandoned wells and mines.
*IBI Members can register for free via the Members' Only website. If you are not a member or need to renew your membership, click here: http://www.biochar-international.org/join. If you have issues renewing your membership status, please send an email to: [email protected]. For other registration-related questions, please send an email to [email protected].
Alternatively, non-IBI Members may attend for a non-member rate of $40. Upon completion of this form and successful payment processing, you will receive a link to join the April 18th webinar.
A veteran in origination, negotiation and structuring of several successful startups and exits, Mark has helped build the exceptional teams necessary to have launched and nurture more than a dozen respected companies over the last fifteen years. Today, he is excited to be focused primarily on the development of carbon offsets through eco-focused remediation efforts within the oil & gas and mining sectors.
Prior to co-founding OFX EcoSolutions, Mark founded Offset Energy Partners, Inc. Both companies are focused on the emerging carbon markets and serve a critical role in the development of carbon offsets through providing eco-focused reclamation and remediation services within the oil & gas and mining sectors. Mark is also a founder and managing partner in Kola Venture Group which has holdings in various cannabinoid ventures focused on ailment specific therapeutics. His responsibilities there have focused on product and brand development as well as operations.
Kathleen is the Chair of the IBI Board of Directors. She is also the US Director of the Ithaka Institute for Carbon Intelligence. The Institute is an open source network focusing on beneficial carbon sequestration strategies which simultaneously provide economic development opportunities both in the developed and developing world. She is an editor and writer for The Biochar Journal, sponsored by the Ithaka Institute. Kathleen also works with various different universities and individuals on projects that are investigating the use of biochar in cement and other building and packaging products to develop products with lower embodied carbon which can be made from locally available organic waste. She has written extensively about various topics related to biochar and is a co-author of the book "Terra Preta: How the World's Most Fertile Soil Can Help Reverse Climate Change and Reduce World Hunger" and “BURN: Using Fire to Cool the Earth”.
Note: If you are not an IBI member in good standing and use the member discount code, you will receive a follow-up email with an option to pay for the webinar at the non-member rate of $40, or consider joining IBI to take advantage of member benefits. http://biochar-international.org/join.
