Staci Taruscio and Brooke Swaine

Stacey and Brooke work together at rebellion energy in Oklahoma. Stacey is the president and CEO and Brooke is the senior engineering and geological technician. They are also the co-founders of Fellow Environmental Partners, a non-profit focussed on plugging orphaned oil and gas wells in an effort to reduce methane emissions.

Stacey and Brooke wanted to do something different for their next project. They were throwing around ideas and started to think about abandoned wells. The more they learnt about the methane emissions and water contamination caused by abandoned oil wells, the more they realised that no one was focussing on the massive environmental damage being caused and how to stop it.

It is a highly technical issue with huge social and environmental impacts. There are hundreds of thousands of orphaned wells - under schools, under houses or under agricultural land. Some are visible - some are not. Some belong to the state - some are private. The costs of plugging a well are huge. The smallest well costs at least $20 000 to plug.

Stacey and Brooke believe that many people in the oil and gas industry are becoming far more aware of the environmental damage that the industry causes and want to do something about it. Within Fellow Environmental Partners, they are looking to create a diverse and inclusive committee with many different perspectives.

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