Orphan and inactive well management.
Tech Source is a Houston firm focused on the end-of-life management of orphan and inactive wells. We run plugging programs for state and federal agencies, manage idle wellbore inventories for commercial operators, and screen wells for redevelopment before they’re permanently abandoned. Engineering and a data platform run underneath the work.
State & Federal Programs
Agencies managing orphan well inventories on state and federal lands, including initiatives funded through the IIJA and successors.
Commercial Operators
Operators carrying idle and legacy wellbore inventories, P&A obligations, or candidates for recompletion and restimulation.
We manage your orphan and inactive well program.
Our engineers and on-site supervisors lead the work in the field. The platform handles the engineering packages, risk scoring, productive-potential screening, and the data infrastructure underneath.
Fit-for-Purpose P&A Engineering
Engineers and on-site supervisors lead each well from work plan to plug confirmation. The platform generates compliant engineering packages tailored to downhole conditions and jurisdictional requirements, with permitting and compliance filings ready for submission.
Risk Mapping
We score each well against field injection history, offset operational issues, and surrounding P&A outcomes to flag problem wells early. Crews show up with engineered procedures for known complications instead of finding them at TD.
Productive Potential Screening
Before any well is permanently abandoned, we score it against production history, decline trends, type curves, formation analogs, and wellbore integrity. Wells with remaining recoverable resource are flagged for redevelopment, not cemented over.
Data Infrastructure
We take paper well files, partial digital records, and third-party datasets and turn them into a queryable, indexed well repository using OCR and AI-enabled structured extraction. Built on open architecture so the data outlives the engagement.
Founders.
Forty years of basin-level operating experience paired with a modern engineering and software team.
Clay Bretches
Clay spent 40 years in oil and gas operations, most recently as Executive Vice President of Operations at Apache Corporation, where he ran global operations across multiple U.S. basins and international assets.
John Freeman
John leads engineering and the technology platform. He spent eight years at EOG Resources working on engineering, software and ML, and capital planning. MBA, Harvard Business School (2025).
Tell us about your wells.
Send us your inventory and we’ll come back with what we’d actually do with it.