Helms has been on the record boasting about the "phases" of drilling here. First phase was to secure the leases. We have over 1200 acres in a spacing unit and I see units that are granted much larger in size. It takes only one well per unit to hold all leases by production. (forced pooling). The companies have routine and regular statements all basic about "yes this protects the correlative rights of mineral owners". They always state that it will actually take 4(or more - depends on the company) wells to effectively drain the unit. NOT a time when they will drill to do this. (NEVER) Now all the minerals are held and derisked. This derisking is bragged about on the sites and makes for a stronger point when selling the company or a nice stock market sales point. I watched as one poor man was told he didn't own that much of a percentage in a unit (now 10,000 acres) and he was made a mockery of. I saw another told to prove she had minerals in an effort to speak. I never saw a company have to produce proof of a lease. (Commission meetings are a joke)
Even if we are seeing doubles drilled or some spacing units that had varied drilling, most were done until leases could be secured. WE have given these companies oversized spacing units and forced mineral owners to share. Our State extracts a vast amount that will dwindle on the extraction tax. They understand that a well produces a huge percentage less in the first 2 yrs.
How will they keep the flow of revenue our legislators have become accustomed to?
What does that $400K actually equate to? Wages? Spending? Housing? Sales tax? Permits? Fines???
They still have some leases to secure. A small percentage left.
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Just wondering if there are any thoughts about this article from those who are more learned then myself.
Drillling is not my realm of expertise, and I only have the information that I read in the article, but from a common sense standpoint, if the state is going to require a closed loop for recovery of drilling and fracking fluids on every, or almost every well, I don't see any way the oil companies are going to be able to round up that many systems ( to service 200 + or - rigs). it becomes inevitable that you will see a significant slowdown. Since they (the state) seem to be worried more about run-off or pit overflow from the kind of extreme weather we experienced last year than anything else...then it seems to make more sense, particularly from a cost perspective, to simply excavate a second "dry" reserve pit when they build the location, just for any overflow that might occur...bet it would be a heck of a lot less than $400k per well.
I am all for the increase in bonds...that just ensures that the non-serious players consider very very closely the ramifications of what it is that they are doing....
Just wondering if there are any thoughts about this article from those who are more learned then myself.
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Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world. A world in which both can flourish.
