The problem
11,000
Documented Texas orphan wells leaking methane 84× more potent than CO₂, with no responsible operator.
Tahom takes custody of orphan oil and gas wells, plugs them permanently, and issues verified credits into a market where supply, not demand, is the constraint.
Documented Texas orphan wells leaking methane 84× more potent than CO₂, with no responsible operator.
Committed in signed, multi-year forward offtake agreements for verified carbon removal.
Of energy-sector credits ever issued from well plugging. No other private platform executing at scale.
| Figure | Context |
|---|---|
| 11,000 | Documented orphan wells in Texas with no responsible operator and no scheduled remediationState regulatory data, 2025 |
| 84× | Global warming potential of methane versus CO₂ over a 20 year horizonIPCC AR6 |
| <10% | Share of documented Texas remediation need covered by existing federal and state fundingDOE IIJA allocation data |
| 4.6M | People living within 1 kilometer of a documented orphan well nationallyResources for the Future, 2023 |
A structural consequence. The orphan well problem is a structural consequence of American oil and gas development. When operators become insolvent, their wells revert to state inventory with no bonded remediation obligation. In Texas, that inventory has grown every year for the past decade.
Active emitters, not legacy artifacts. These wells are not remnants of a closed chapter with no further impact. They are active emitters, continuously contributing to rising methane concentrations. No regulatory mechanism compels their closure. No economic incentive exists to plug them without a functioning credit market.
A permanent deficit. The gap between documented need and available public capital is not a short term funding delay. It is a permanent structural deficit. Closing it requires private capital and a credit mechanism that makes closing profitable.
Committed in signed, multi year forward offtake agreements for verified carbon removal, the real demand curve behind this market.
Morgan Stanley, Carbon Markets
Share of total energy sector carbon credits issued to date from orphan well plugging, against an inventory of over 120,000 documented wells nationally.
RMI, March 2026 · 8.3M credits across 80 projects
Companies holding Science Based Targets initiative commitments. Structural demand that does not track ESG sentiment cycles.
SBTi Corporate Dashboard, 2025
The question is not whether this market develops. The question is who controls the supply when it does.
Direct custodial transfer from the state regulatory body. Others broker access to wells. We own the asset and the outcome.
Field measured baselines, confirmed by independent review. The highest additionality standard the voluntary carbon market recognizes.
The market has waited years for a working methodology on wells like these. We are building our own, with our own capital behind it.
No other private capital vehicle is executing at scale against the Texas orphan well inventory. The Permian Basin's thermogenic geology produces materially higher per well credit yields than biogenic formations.
State regulatory data; independent geological assessment
Additionality means the emissions reduction would not have happened without the carbon credit financing it. These wells have no owner, no legal obligation, and no economic reason to be plugged. They only get closed if the credit revenue makes it worthwhile.
American Carbon Registry methodology; VCS additionality standards
Every well is tested before abatement begins. Field diagnostics determine which sites meet the threshold for permanent intervention.
Once a well qualifies, we take direct custodial transfer from the state regulatory body. The liability moves to us.
With custody comes a second, deeper round of measurement. We do not model. We do not estimate. We measure.
Permanent, physical abatement, confirmed by independent review.
Verified credits, sold in bulk to enterprise buyers under structured offtake agreements.
“The methodology the market has been waiting on. We're building it ourselves, and putting our own capital behind it.”
Tahom
“I looked for someone who would stand in the gap on behalf of the land, but found none.” Ezekiel 22:30
Tahom's Texas methane abatement program is made available to qualified investors and institutional buyers. To request a briefing or discuss an investment, submit your details below.
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