You might be living next to a Royal Bank of Canada-financed oil extraction well and not know it.
Active and idle oil wells contribute to substantial pollution and create disparate health outcomes among the communities living near the drilling sites. Studies have found an average of 66% of active and idle oil wells leak methane, which aside from being a major contributor to climate change, also puts residents at greater risk of asthma, cancer and other negative health outcomes. Idle, abandoned, and even plugged wells can create pollution and spillage despite their decommissioned status.
Use the interactive map below to locate oil wells in California operated by Royal Bank of Canada borrowers.
Caption: Oil well data from California Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM)’s All Wells database, as of 03/28/2024. Wells are limited to the following types: dry gas, gas, gas storage, unclassified injection, multiple uses including production, oil and gas, cyclic steam, steam flood, wastewater disposal, and water flood; and those with the operational status “Plugged”, “Idle”, “Active”, or “New”. Special thanks to Kyle Ferrar from Fractracker Alliance, Dr. Madison Swayne from San Diego State University and Dr. James Sadd from Occidental College for guidance on CalGEM oil well data. Facilities and their greenhouse gas emissions retrieved from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gas Tool (FLIGHT), 2021 reported data. Census tract demographics retrieved from FFIEC 2023 Census Flat File, which utilizes the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File and 2016-2020 American Community Survey to report minority population as percent of tract population rounded to two decimal places.