hurleyjd
Well-known member
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/gas-companies-abandoning-wells-leaving-090009997.html
And to think that our cows are to blame for methane emissions.
And to think that our cows are to blame for methane emissions.
Gas Wells
- Thread starter hurleyjd
- Start date
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hurleyjd said:
That's because they want your land... the O&G companies dont have any thing they want.
So the article finally pulled up for me and there is resemblance of truth to it but it's so screwed up and obviously biased it's hard to see.
I'll try to put some real info behind this.
To start, yes, no one knows the long term effect of these wells for the next hundreds of years. Unless you want to go back to riding horses, dieing young, and camping over a fire that is a risk we have all taken as a society.
I'm not sure how California is set up but there is a regulatory commission that oversees these types of situations. If California does not have one it's their own fault.
Basically if I want to start an O&G company have have to get permitted by Texas RRC. In that permit I'll have yo put up X amount of dollars for X amount of wells. That money is held in case I do not meet my obligations for plugging the types of wells mentioned and the state of Texas will take it. They will also take any assets the company has and can personally sue the officers of the company, even in a corporation, to make up any shortfalls on the plugging expense.
Now there are two problems with this actually working the way it's supposed to. One is, the state of Texas, and many other states with similar regulatory commissions, have a bad habit of using O&G revenue to fund other projects. Then when the roads are destroyed or wells dont get plugged they point the finger at the O&G industry rather than taking responsibility for the mismanagement of the funds.
Every one involved in O&G is at the mercy of the govt for permitting, taxes, etc. If those fees to not cover the damage it is no ones fault but their own for not charging enough.
So when your county commissioner, or regulatory commission, or governor gets up and runs the O&G industry in to the ground your first question to them is... why did yall let them do it! They had all the power to raise fees and regulate it and did nothing. Why is that? Because in true political form they are talking out both sides of their mouth. They wanted that tax revenue to dish out to all their pet projects, so they can stay in office, more than they cared about your roads or the environment.
That's the truth about how it actually works. The govt refuses to crack down on that industry because they want the money... just as much as the O&G companies do.
I'll try to put some real info behind this.
To start, yes, no one knows the long term effect of these wells for the next hundreds of years. Unless you want to go back to riding horses, dieing young, and camping over a fire that is a risk we have all taken as a society.
I'm not sure how California is set up but there is a regulatory commission that oversees these types of situations. If California does not have one it's their own fault.
Basically if I want to start an O&G company have have to get permitted by Texas RRC. In that permit I'll have yo put up X amount of dollars for X amount of wells. That money is held in case I do not meet my obligations for plugging the types of wells mentioned and the state of Texas will take it. They will also take any assets the company has and can personally sue the officers of the company, even in a corporation, to make up any shortfalls on the plugging expense.
Now there are two problems with this actually working the way it's supposed to. One is, the state of Texas, and many other states with similar regulatory commissions, have a bad habit of using O&G revenue to fund other projects. Then when the roads are destroyed or wells dont get plugged they point the finger at the O&G industry rather than taking responsibility for the mismanagement of the funds.
Every one involved in O&G is at the mercy of the govt for permitting, taxes, etc. If those fees to not cover the damage it is no ones fault but their own for not charging enough.
So when your county commissioner, or regulatory commission, or governor gets up and runs the O&G industry in to the ground your first question to them is... why did yall let them do it! They had all the power to raise fees and regulate it and did nothing. Why is that? Because in true political form they are talking out both sides of their mouth. They wanted that tax revenue to dish out to all their pet projects, so they can stay in office, more than they cared about your roads or the environment.
That's the truth about how it actually works. The govt refuses to crack down on that industry because they want the money... just as much as the O&G companies do.
hurleyjd
Well-known member
Brute 23 said:
My wife worked for 17 years in administration at Hess Oil. Also we have wells on our place with no minerals. We know how the Railroad Commission works also the water control board. Both are in the pockets of the oil companies.
Any govt related agency that has an elected or appointed official running it... is in some one's pocket.
Yes, the RRC had been very laxed for years. They would purposely leave wells unplugged hoping another company would pick it up so they would not have to fool with it. Alot of their regulations were very outdated. That has changed in the last 5-10yrs.
We had a well that had been leaking our the surface casing flange for years. It finally got so bad it was spewing clouds of oil and gas.we had been reporting it for years. This is right down the road from where another major blow out just happened. They dragged their feet until we treated to go to the news paper and social media. They also the worse about cutting corners and not following their own plugging rules.
On another property we have a big oil spill that has been there for years. I had to take the tractor and build a berm around it. The RRC destroyed the roads and even drove thru some of our hay fields to plug the wells but did not clean up the oil spills.
Trust me, the RRC knows me and my family by name. Those poor guys who were safety men one day and plugging engineers the next dont stand a chance against generations of O&G. When I worked for a company I kept those picture of the oil spills and leaking well heads on my phone. When a RRC person showed up on one of my locations and tried to get out of hand I showed them what their RRC was really about.
... and yes. Your water board is a joke.
Yes, the RRC had been very laxed for years. They would purposely leave wells unplugged hoping another company would pick it up so they would not have to fool with it. Alot of their regulations were very outdated. That has changed in the last 5-10yrs.
We had a well that had been leaking our the surface casing flange for years. It finally got so bad it was spewing clouds of oil and gas.we had been reporting it for years. This is right down the road from where another major blow out just happened. They dragged their feet until we treated to go to the news paper and social media. They also the worse about cutting corners and not following their own plugging rules.
On another property we have a big oil spill that has been there for years. I had to take the tractor and build a berm around it. The RRC destroyed the roads and even drove thru some of our hay fields to plug the wells but did not clean up the oil spills.
Trust me, the RRC knows me and my family by name. Those poor guys who were safety men one day and plugging engineers the next dont stand a chance against generations of O&G. When I worked for a company I kept those picture of the oil spills and leaking well heads on my phone. When a RRC person showed up on one of my locations and tried to get out of hand I showed them what their RRC was really about.
... and yes. Your water board is a joke.
With that said, although they still lack a lot they have gotten very strict on some important things. The days of filing bankruptcy, starting up under a new name and doing it again are gone. If the RRC has to plug out a company's wells no one that was associated with that company will be approved for any more permits until the previous amount was settled in full. A lot of those old shady guys that use to use wells to pimp the foreign money are completely banned for ever.
... and that is a good thing.
... and that is a good thing.
