Plants & Goodwin, part of Zefiro Methane Corp [Cboe Canada: ZEFI] [Frankfurt: Y6B] [OTCQB: ZEFIF], has acquired a minority ownership interest in Winterhawk Well Abandonment for an undisclosed amount.
Winterhawk is a Calgary-based manufacturer of specialised downhole tools and technologies designed to expand casing in oil and gas wells to seal the leak pathways of surface casing vent flows.
Sealing these methane leaks using conventional well decommissioning procedures is not always successful, but forward-thinking innovations patented by companies like Winterhawk can increase well intervention effectiveness and reduce costs.
Methane remains a potent threat to the climate
Methane is considered to be a major component of global warming. According to the International Energy Agency, it is responsible for 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution. Sustained reductions in methane emissions are considered to be critical if we are going to limit near-term warming and improve air quality.
The agreement is a good fit for environmental services specialist Zefiro, which generates carbon credits for capping oil and gas wells. This could provide it with a significant edge against competitor products.
P&G and Winterhawk also entered into an exclusive patent license agreement for Winterhawk’s U.S. patents for an undisclosed amount. The agreement will position P&G as the only company that can use, deploy, distribute, offer for sale, sell or otherwise dispose Winterhawk’s innovative “Casing Expansion Tool” and other covered products on project sites in the United States.
The agreement also allows P&G to sublicense Winterhawk Products to other entities operating in the United States which can generate additional revenue for the company.
“When Luke Plants, CEO of Zefiro Services, first told me about this technology, I was excited about having a new tool to address methane leaks from casing vent flows,” said Talal Debs, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Zefiro Methane Corp. “Winterhawk’s one-of-a-kind casing expansion technology gives us one more way to eliminate harmful emissions and deliver the highest possible quality with every deployment.”
From Winterhawk’s inception, the company has always aimed to have the Casing Expansion Tool routinely deployed on the most complex, high-priority job sites.
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Zefiro strives to be a key commercial force towards active sustainability. It leverages decades of operational expertise, Zand is building a new toolkit to clean up air, land, and water sources directly impacted by methane leaks.
Zefiro has built a fully integrated ground operation driven by an innovative monetization solution for the emerging methane abatement marketplace. As an originator of high-quality U.S.-based methane offsets, Zefiro aims to generate long-term economic, environmental, and social returns.
US government continues financial support for well plugging
The US government announced a $54.2mn package in May to clean up environmental pollution in West Virginia (where P&G operates) and North Dakota. This is just part of ongoing US government support for programmes such as these across the country ($660mn in formula grant funding released on a rolling basis).
“I’ve seen firsthand the urgent need to address these hazardous sites, many of which are actively leaking oil and releasing methane gas,” said Deb Haaland, US Secretary of the Interior. “These investments are good for our climate, for the health of our communities, and for American workers.”
