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Writer's pictureDan Wrona

CarbonPath: Bridging the Energy Transition



In the US alone, there are 2.75 million oil and gas wells that will leak billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere over their lifetimes. Unchecked, their impact is massive, it would require forests the size of Africa and China combined to compensate for these emissions. Industrial solutions must be part of the climate change playbook.


The CarbonPath mission is to incentivize permanent well shutdown by tokenizing the greenhouse gasses (GHG) prevented from entering the atmosphere. This problem requires a secure, transparent, and fully auditable technical solution. Celo, the first carbon-negative blockchain, made perfect sense. CarbonPath and Celo share a passion for solving real-world problems by leveraging the power of communities and organizations to accelerate the transition to a greener tomorrow.


Who is CarbonPath?

We are a group of industry experts linked by our passion to make positive climate impact. While driving through West Texas on a family vacation, our Co-founder and CEO witnessed first hand the impact of oil and gas wells on the environment.


“In the arid flat land of the Midland Basin you can see for miles. What I saw was wellsite after wellsite reaching to the horizon, each identified by the burning light of flaring excess gas from the extraction process. New roads reaching out to each of them criss-crossing the land. More semi-trucks than you could count, delivering sand and water to newly drilled wells to frac, and hauling waste water and oil from the producing wells. While driving between trucks as we passed through the basin, I was truly struck that this was happening 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and what a monumental task was ahead to reverse everything I could see.”

- Tyler Crabtree, CEO of CarbonPath


The world needs a bridge from old fossil fuel driven energy to modern, clean, renewable energy and alternative fuels. CarbonPath provides that bridge. We realized the tremendous opportunity for the energy industry to embrace positive climate action with rewards versus punishment for business as usual. Without the CarbonPath solution, oil and gas wells will continue to pollute for decades to come.


We built the first Web3 Carbon Registry focused on Industrial solutions. Thus far, we have two premier scientific methodologies that incentivize the permanent shut down of low-producing, orphaned, and abandoned oil and gas wells. We have ambitions to add and host all Industrial Carbon Solutions that provide positive climate impact. By tackling all economic sectors for the prevention, avoidance, and removal of greenhouse gas emissions we will help accelerate the US and the globe to meet and exceed IPCC Climate Goals.


Why Celo?

Historical and current carbon credit marketplaces are woefully behind on the technology required to provide complete transparency, address ongoing and future validation, and provide verification of quality. Our friends at Toucan have written a great blog post describing the benefits. A public Web3 blockchain is the perfect solution to move past carbon credit challenges. Using blockchain technology as a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the recording of transactions on a public network modernizes the carbon credit market. Tokens on blockchain provide transparency and verification of all data, calculations, measurements, and reporting.


Celo, their product and their support of CarbonPath and other climate positive solutions, has been a perfect fit for us. The Celo Foundation, Celo Climate Collective, and scores of other inspirational founders building on Celo create a unique and supportive community that allows CarbonPath to thrive. The technology of blockchains, smart contracts, and web3 are in the early days of becoming accepted solutions for complex problems. Celo Camp helped us accelerate our learnings and our timeline to product launch.


Our Celo Camp Experience

Celo Camp 6 accelerated the build-out of our Web3 Industrial Carbon Registry. We now have a map centric application where customers can select oil and gas wells, track their decommissioning story, and purchase tokens to shut down oil and gas wells. We have embedded every step of the digital measurement, reporting, and verification (dMRV) behind every oil and gas well on the Celo blockchain.


We are minting CabonPath tokens on the Celo test-net. Once our pilot project is complete, 12,000 tokens (1 token = 1 metric ton of avoided GHG emissions) will be available to be purchased on Celo main-net through our website starting first quarter 2023.

Our memorable moments:

  • “Memorable camp moments include the support you get from everyone, and how open and honest everyone is. It’s very refreshing.” - Tyler Crabtree, CEO

  • “Seeing everyone in Celo Camp take a moment to prepare and be mindful before the day of meetings started was a nice memory and something I will continue to do after Celo Camp.” - Dan Wrona, Sr. Data Scientist

  • “The most memorable moments that I have had from this camp come from the individual connections, learning from others, and gathering insight into each founder's journey.” - Erik Baros, CTO

Our important lessons:

  • “What I learned from Celo Camp was the importance of user research and feedback. It’s foolish to think you know what the customer wants from a product or experience when you have resources and the ability to ask them.” -Tyler Crabtree, CEO

  • “Beyond what we knew coming in, it was incredible to see how much Celo and the Celo community enabled this process. The quality of mentors and returning alumni lead sessions is a testament to how valuable this community is. Staying connected will be important as we scale and grow.” - Dan Wrona, Sr. Data Scientist


The Carbon Path Process

The CarbonPath prevention tokens will be available through our website (starting first quarter 2023) for individuals and corporations to directly be a part of the energy transition, help end GHG emissions, and stop our dependence on fossil fuels.


In our pilot project (see pre-decommissioning photos below) we have safely and permanently shut down two oil and gas wells while working with an oil well operator in Montana. Multiple plugs have been installed below the surface in the wellbore - protecting water aquifers and preventing any emissions from reaching the atmosphere and contaminating the air we breathe. All surface equipment (wellheads, pump-jacks, storage tanks, flare stacks, and flowlines) has been removed and recycled. The land is now being reclaimed and restored to nature. By the end of the CarbonPath process, we will have transformed a polluting industrial site into a natural carbon sink of native grasslands.



In 2023 we aim to close 100 oil and gas wells, and from 2024 forward we plan to shut down 1000 low-producing, orphaned, and abandoned oil and gas wells per year. Join the CarbonPath mission by signing up on our waitlist, partnering with us to shut down wells in your state or region, and become an anchor token buyer through our website (coming first quarter 2023).


Authors:


Dan Wrona

Co-founder of CarbonPath with 25 years of experience as a geological engineer working in the energy and environmental industries.



Sophia Campello Beckwith

Co-Founder of 2099, a product design and development company helping ClimateTech startups make change happen.


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