Oilfield​

[greybeard]

All our new stuff is 1, 2, 3%. It's worse when you leave Texas. I have stood right there with our guys when they suited up and walked in to the fog. They hold the meters and we watch them go crazy. That is literally the line between life and death... no questions asked. If you want to end it all take 3 steps forward.

It is highly corrosive also. That well won't be around long at that rate. They become very uneconimical real fast as the production tapers off.

and it permeates into steel too, and the gas can be released when the tank appears physically clean but closed up.
Nasty stuff.

 

[M.Magis]

A lot of the activity here in SE Ohio dried up when oil prices fell. I think the pipelines being held up was part of it too. Some of the big companies that set up shop here and signed anyone they could for $5000/acre or more just up and moves out this past year. We're right on the western edge of it, so it seems most of the activity is one county over. It was crazy 5 years ago, and i'm sure they'll be back when it makes sense.

 

[Bright Raven]

A lot of the activity here in SE Ohio dried up when oil prices fell. I think the pipelines being held up was part of it too. Some of the big companies that set up shop here and signed anyone they could for $5000/acre or more just up and moves out this past year. We're right on the western edge of it, so it seems most of the activity is one county over. It was crazy 5 years ago, and i'm sure they'll be back when it makes sense.

Are you close to Athens?

 

[TexasBred]

Your right Craig I don't know anything about it and I find it strange that an oil company can just set up on property without any input from land owners. Seems to me if they didn't do what they should you can just shut them down but I guess the money is the root of the problem.

Land owners (surface owner) get paid a pretty good sum for drilling pad location. Use to be as much as $30K for one pad. And they normally pay damages for any surface spills as well as cleanup expense. But they will drill where they want to drill when all is said and done.

 

[TexasBred]

Your right Craig I don't know anything about it and I find it strange that an oil company can just set up on property without any input from land owners. Seems to me if they didn't do what they should you can just shut them down but I guess the money is the root of the problem.

The mineral owners make a contract with the o&g company basically on the terms of their partnership. There are also environmental rules set by local, state, and federal agencies. All that only works if some one is willing to enforce the terms of the contact or the regulations.

The dicey part is mineral ownership usually trumps surface ownership so the owner of the surface doesn't always get to make the rules.

Everything is negotiable so even though he knows he will end up doing what the mineral rights owner and the OG company wants to do he can negotiate compensation. I own some minerals in Robertson County and surface owner sued O&G company and actually did get them to relocate a drill site by a couple hundred yards.

 

[Caustic Burno]

If it's present it can quickly be bad Steve. It's the 2nd most toxic substance known to man, only behind Hydrogen Cyanide. Not a lot of fatalities because it's danger is so well known in oil & gas sector.
Lots of people in oilfield country smell it as they drive down the road and say "That smells like MONEY."
I say it smells like death.
At 10ppm, your sense of smell deteriorates or acclimates (olfactory paralysis) and you may think the danger is gone.
That's where one of the dangers lies.


At 30ppm, damage to the blood/brain barrier starts.

This chart, regardless of how it may look, is not linear.
Walk up on 300-500ppm and you're likely on your way to eternity.

 0.03 ppm
Can smell. Safe for 8 hours exposure

 4 ppm
May cause eye irritation. Mask must be used as it damages metabolism.

 10 ppm
Maximum exposure 10 minutes. Kills smell in 3 to 15 minutes. Causes GAS EYE and throat injury. Reacts violently with dental mercury amalgam fillings.

 20 ppm
Exposure for more than 1 minute causes severe injury to eye nerves.

 30 ppm
Loss of smell, injury to blood brain barrier through olfactory nerves

 100 ppm
Respiratory paralysis in 30 to 45 minutes. Needs prompt artificial resuscitation. Will become unconscious quickly (15 minutes maximum)

 200 ppm
Serious eye injury and permanent damage to eye nerves. Stings eye and throat.

300 ppm
Loses sense of reasoning and balance. Respiratory paralysis in 30 to 45 minutes

500 ppm
Asphyxia! Needs prompt artificial resuscitation. Will become unconscious in 3 to 5 minutes. Immediate artificial resuscitation is required.

 700 ppm
Breathing will stop and death will result if not rescued promptly, immediate unconsciousness. Permanent brain damage may result unless rescued promptly.

I have walked through clouds of the stuff suited up.
It makes a greenish cloud in super high concentrations.
One of the units I worked on a SRU took the H2S out of the oil then we charged pure H2S to thermal and catalytic reactors converting it back to organic sulfur. We are talking a million cubic feet per hour.

 

[M.Magis]

A lot of the activity here in SE Ohio dried up when oil prices fell. I think the pipelines being held up was part of it too. Some of the big companies that set up shop here and signed anyone they could for $5000/acre or more just up and moves out this past year. We're right on the western edge of it, so it seems most of the activity is one county over. It was crazy 5 years ago, and i'm sure they'll be back when it makes sense.

Are you close to Athens?

Not too far, just about an hour or so south of here.

 

[Bright Raven]

A lot of the activity here in SE Ohio dried up when oil prices fell. I think the pipelines being held up was part of it too. Some of the big companies that set up shop here and signed anyone they could for $5000/acre or more just up and moves out this past year. We're right on the western edge of it, so it seems most of the activity is one county over. It was crazy 5 years ago, and i'm sure they'll be back when it makes sense.

Are you close to Athens?

Not too far, just about an hour or so south of here.

I went through that country going to the Lazy H Simmental dispersal sale. Lovely country.

 

[M.Magis]

Are you close to Athens?

Not too far, just about an hour or so south of here.

I went through that country going to the Lazy H Simmental dispersal sale. Lovely country.

It is, though flatlanders aren't crazy about the hills.
Thought about going to that sale but something came up. Looked like they had a nice operation.

 

[Bright Raven]

Not too far, just about an hour or so south of here.

I went through that country going to the Lazy H Simmental dispersal sale. Lovely country.

It is, though flatlanders aren't crazy about the hills.
Thought about going to that sale but something came up. Looked like they had a nice operation.

I drove up on the Appalachian Highway. I like the hills. The sale was great. I saw Remington Lock and Load on his feet.

Looks like Lazy H is still operating.

 

[jedstivers]

Been through Ponca City OK one time. Was at night, all of a sudden my eyes started watering and burning so bad could hardly drive. Soon as I got through there I was fine.
Isn't that a refinery town? What would cause that?
Oh, made my throat sore too.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Been through Ponca City OK one time. Was at night, all of a sudden my eyes started watering and burning so bad could hardly drive. Soon as I got through there I was fine.
Isn't that a refinery town? What would cause that?
Oh, made my throat sore too.

Tequila?

 

[jedstivers]

Been through Ponca City OK one time. Was at night, all of a sudden my eyes started watering and burning so bad could hardly drive. Soon as I got through there I was fine.
Isn't that a refinery town? What would cause that?
Oh, made my throat sore too.

Tequila?

No, whatever it was hit faster than Tequila.

 

[TCRanch]

Your right Craig I don't know anything about it and I find it strange that an oil company can just set up on property without any input from land owners. Seems to me if they didn't do what they should you can just shut them down but I guess the money is the root of the problem.

The mineral owners make a contract with the o&g company basically on the terms of their partnership. There are also environmental rules set by local, state, and federal agencies. All that only works if some one is willing to enforce the terms of the contact or the regulations.

Mineral rights trump surface rights every time.

All true! We do have the mineral rights, own the land and have a very detailed contract about when/where they can drill, damages, etc. We just haven't enforced it. Yet!!

 

[Caustic Burno]

I would imagine it was one of the sulfur oxides. Safe levels are still an irritating.

 

[greybeard]

Jupiter Sulphur plant is in Ponca City, a carbon black plant, and ConocoPhillips too.

(I had the misfortune of going thru Evadale Tx recently--didn't smell as bad as it used to, but I still knew where I was before I got there.. )

 

[TCRanch]

Interesting turn of events (the condensed version):

Over the past couple months we received 3 additional tax statements for oil royalties. I paid them (that's what I do when I receive a bill/statement) but my husband questioned the production. Turns out we were charged for literally 10,000 barrels more than we received; their reasoning was "projected production", based on the prior year and assuming some of the wells would be re-fracked. What the what?!? Hubby spent quality time on the phone with the county Treasurer and Thursday we received a refund check for a little over $4K. I was gone all day yesterday but Hubby got a call from the CFO of the Oil Co, thanking him because they also received a refund. So now they're grateful and have more incentive plus extra $$$ to fix/clean up the one well, fix one of the electrical lines and install the roads. We'll see how this plays out.

And on a side note (shameless self promotion), the oil company names all their wells after a song. I have no idea why. Evidently they like me and named one of the wells Lil' Red Kevette. Woo-hoo, I'm being immortalized by a combo of fracking and Prince . Unfortunately that well is currently out of production - but at least I can occasionally look at the sign and get a cheap thrill.

 

[Brute 23]

That's funny. Some of them get pretty creative with the names.

That is total bs on the taxing deal. Most wells have a 60-80% decline curve.... and they don't get to tax you on some thing that may or may not happen. That's like them taxing you on a pool that hasn't been put in yet.

 

[Bright Raven]

That's funny. Some of them get pretty creative with the names.

That is total bs on the taxing deal. Most wells have a 60-80% decline curve.... and they don't get to tax you on some thing that may or may not happen. That's like them taxing you on a pool that hasn't been put in yet.

Their county tax assessor's office is operating off the grid!!! Its like taxing a beef producer on next year's feeder calf sales!

 

[greybeard]

Govt; local, state, or federal, has never seen a fee, penalty, or tax they didn't like.
The worst part? There are govt employees that know this behavior is wrong, unjust and illegal, but they process it anyway.
Every entity has it's lackeys.