An interesting article from the Denver Postabout a city called Longmont in the northern Colorado region goes into detail about new restrictions being placed on drilling companies who are interested in expanding west of the major high way I-25. On the oposite side of I-25 from Longmont, 1000's of wells have been drilled in the LaSalle/ Greely, with a target of either the Niobrara or Denvers Julesburg formation which are primarily natural gas producing zones. Longmont is a beautiful area that backs up to the Rocky Mountain foothills. The restrictions are almost arbitrary to what type of scenario is at hand and this makes it difficult for both sides to get what they want. The ruling is going to be on terms of "appropriateness".Are the operation companies going to be able to produce from these areas or no? Who deserves to get their way? Who should decide this?
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The world cannot simply stop producing oil and natural gas, over 6000 different products are made from hydrocarbon based constituents. This includes things as important as heart valves to save peoples lives. Oil and gas companies should not be able to go drill any land that they chose though, so how does this get resolved?
Bill
From an outside perspective, what do you think the outcome of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission's lawsuit will be against Longmont?
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, what is your (or your team's) opinion(s) on wells in residential neighborhoods?
Hi Savannah
ReplyDeleteI want to start out by saying something interesting I just caught myself do while reading this article about the matter. As soon as I read, "The city can require water-quality monitoring until five years after the well is abandoned, if necessary?" I laughed at that note as if, that is a waste of money and so unnecessary. But immediately I then took a step back and reanalyzed that yes, this is of course the route to take. Why not just always be sure, this is a good opportunity to take away more understanding of the area, and it's for the safety of humans and animals. The next interesting requirement is that "drilling would be banned in residential areas. An operator can ask for an exception to the drilling ban if the restriction would make it impossible to access the company's mineral rights." My question with that is then can the operators purchase new mineral rights? Or did I just find another, what's it called...? Loop hole.
I see this lawsuit coming down to the Operator proceeding with the new water testing requirements, but still being able to obtain their rightful land with contributions to the city of land owner to make it fair.
My opinion is that first of all it has to be somewhat difficult to drill a producing oil or gas well in an already residential area, unless it is a spread apart enough neighbor hood to allow multiple drill pads if multiple houses wanted/allowed them. If I lived a semi rurual residential I personally Bill would allow that on my land. I urge Adam Aubrey and Kelsie to address these questions too.
Sorry about my writing errors...
ReplyDeleteBill
With new drilling technologies, it is easier for companies to avoid drilling inside residential areas, which I think is much appreciated by landowners. Directional drilling has made it possible to tap into oil and gas reserves underneath residential areas from miles away. This is more expensive for the companies, but in my opinion, it is a great compromise to keep landowners and residents happy while still being able to exploit these natural resources. This being said, it would be very difficult to exploit areas such as a downtown area, but even that has been done and supported (google search: Beverly Hills High School).
ReplyDeleteSome people are concerned with the effect of hydraulic fracturing under residential areas, but the depth at which most wells are fractured is so deep, residents will not be aware fracturing is taking place.
So overall, I support the exploitation of America's natural resources. I realize there are limitations with pre-existing buildings and residential areas, but if the process is possible, it is likely safe and will have minimal impact on the area and residents once drilling and completion processes are complete.
-Kelsi