Gas wells and their impact on land

[Lammie]

I did a search on this to see if anyone has written about it previously, but I was wanting opinions.

There is, in this area, an abundant supply of natural gas that has recently been discovered. I guess everyone and their dog has been getting in on this bonanza. We have a friend who is making on average, 7,100.00 per month on one well. I don't know about you, but that is an impressive figure to me. I am looking around here, though, and all I see is the roads being torn up by tankers, huge towers that are lit up so brightly at night that I can't see to drive when I'm near one, ugly holes in the ground lined with what looks like plastic sheeting. I wonder about the future environmental impact of these practices. I have heard predictions on both sides. We have not been approached about drilling on you land yet, but if it happens, I don't know whether I should be torn by the potential damage done or lured by the potential income. On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer, right? Take the money and run. But these wells are scarring up the landscape. I worry about the water tables and just the general impact on the land.

I'm not a tree hugger. I just think that it is a decision that you can't consider carefully enough. I love this land.

Any thoughts?

 

[backhoeboogie]

If the environment is respected, I have no real issues. Problem is they are already catching things like people dumping salt water in Lake Granbury and so forth. Apparently it is expensive to dispose of this water. Some guy was dumping, from one of those semis. and fell suspect. He was caught trikling it all night long.

1. How much had he dumped before he got caught?

2. What impact does this have on farms in the Brazos basin?

3. How many more have done it and no one knows? (there are some pretty remote and well hidden places along the Brazos)

 

[MULDOON]

Those wells will be drilled.
If you are the land owner , you can , and should have the oil company , agree to repair the land , after they drill it(get it in writing)
I have drilled more then a few wells in the Barnett shale formation,
Every well that I was on , was drilled within the rules set by the Texas railroad Commision, T hey are in charge of all wells that are drilled in Texas,
You have to get a permit from them before you can drill.
You have to have a planned proposal showing how deep , and exactly what direction you plan to drill.
By law you have to set casing and cement the casing after you drill thru the water tables. This is the law!!
I have seen where the drilling rig lost drilling pipe and since they were in the water table area, they could not abandon the project, They had to continue to Fish for the junk they had left in the hole.
Refering to the salt water , that salt water came from the well , The formation below the barnett shale is called the " Ellenburger"these oil companies spend a ton of money on Geologist , and use logs that they have from nearby wells to try to figure out exactly where this formation is , so that they can stay out of it.The reason they want to stay out of tis formation is because they don't want to produce this "Salt Water"
The guy that was dumping that salt water should have been taking it to a " Disposal well"
Where it can be injected back in to the same formation.
I'm sure that they were taking short cuts , trying to save time & money,
To bad a few bad apples give every body else a bad name.

Bottom line , if you are going to have a well drilled on your property, get it in writing that they will repair the land,
Usually land owners can prosper by getting a new water well drilled , cattle guards & gates installed , and have the oil companies plant grass on the area when they are done.
I would also make sure you agree to having a reputable oil company

I've made this wat to long ,

Later,,

Bill

 

[backhoeboogie]

Bill,

We had a lawyer go through all the leases before we signed. Seveal clauses were added and all were accepted. I did the same thing for the "cotton patch" wells in East Texas that I just leased on.

At $300 a month, per acre, for Barnett gas revenue, I can spare 10 acres for the drilling duration. The problem I have is what "the few bad apples" are doing, up river from me. Most all of the folks I have dealt with are on the up and up; we chose carefully - and slowly.

Weed out those bad apples every time you get a chance.

 

[rustydude]

Hey Lammie , I am in Burleson and had a friend around the corner just sign a lease good for 20,000 per month. Awfully hard to back away from that . I think Muldoon and Backhoe are correct , stay on the producer to do the right thing with the land when they are done and expect bad apples along the way.

 

[bullred]

Muldoon is dead on! I've drilled thousands of wells all over the world - including many in your area. The impact to the envioronment is dependent on the quality of the operator and the drilling contractor. Get it in writting and develop a relationship with the operator's representative on site.

Bare in mind that right now every rig that can turn to the right is drilling, and operators - especially independents - are taking what they can get. Many of the little "mom and pop" drilling contractors don't have the same environmental and safety standards that the major contractors do. And when rigs are scarce operators tend to turn a blind eye to some things. It's important that you stay on top of it.