Eclipse Energy’s microorganisms are capable of transforming inactive oil wells into sources of hydrogen production

Transforming Abandoned Wells into Sources of Clean Energy

Across the United States, there are as many as three million deserted oil and gas wells. Although many of these wells still contain significant amounts of oil or gas, their operators have deemed further extraction unprofitable and ceased operations.

“They’ve exhausted all conventional methods,” explained Prab Sekhon, CEO of Eclipse Energy, in an interview with TechCrunch. “Yet, a substantial quantity of oil remains untapped.”

While Eclipse Energy doesn’t focus on extracting the leftover oil itself, the company has developed an innovative approach to harness some of the energy still trapped underground. Instead of intensifying traditional extraction or injecting chemicals, Eclipse introduces specialized microbes into the wells. These microbes feed on oil molecules, releasing hydrogen in the process.

This process transforms the challenge of retrieving thick, stubborn oil into the much simpler task of collecting hydrogen gas. “Hydrogen is far easier to move than oil,” Sekhon noted, simplifying the extraction process considerably.

Headquartered in Houston and originally spun out from Cemvita, Eclipse Energy showcased its technology last summer at a site in California’s San Joaquin Basin. The company has now formed a partnership with Weatherford International, a global oilfield services provider, to roll out this technology worldwide. The first collaborative projects are scheduled to launch in January.

Describing the partnership, Sekhon said, “Weatherford acts as an extension of our own team. They’ll handle the operational side of things for us.”

Previously known as Gold H2, Eclipse has spent years refining its technology. The team has been isolating and testing naturally occurring microbes found at the boundary between oil and water in aquifers, seeking those most effective at breaking down oil.

As these microbes digest the oil, they convert it into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Both gases rise to the surface, where Eclipse and its partners plan to separate them. Approximately half of the carbon dioxide is expected to remain underground, while the rest can be captured with specialized equipment for storage or reuse.

Sekhon’s ambition is to produce low-carbon hydrogen at a cost of about 50 cents per kilogram—comparable to the price of hydrogen generated from natural gas in industrial facilities, but with a much smaller carbon footprint.

The hydrogen produced through this method could serve as a feedstock for petrochemical manufacturing or be used as a clean-burning fuel.

“We’re converting what was once an environmental burden into a valuable clean energy resource,” Sekhon emphasized.