[razorback-bert]

Hmmm, I thought most of the wells in that area were on the Southern Ute Rez and Navajo land in Utah.

[CedarDave]

Not at all. The majority of them are in New Mexico from the Colorado border south to the Cuba area and from the west flanks of the Jemez Mountains west to the Arizona border. This is a very old (from 1950's) and well drilled area. I suspect most of the anticipated drilling is infill and probably different target zones. Though unprofitable when oil prices were low, they are being looked at again. Of course, most of the production is from traditional formations (Dakota, Mesa Verde), but these have very little water associated with them.

Coal bed methane is produced from areas almost exclusively north of the San Juan River up to the border and into Colorado. That production produces lots of water, most of which is relatively fresh. The California liberal, ex-hippy transplants who now are beginning to take over Durango have organized to fight coal gas production on the Colorado side. Hell, they're even fighting the old steam engines on the historic narrow gauge RR to Silverton, complaining about the coal smoke, and making the air quality folks enforce Colorado air quality rules at the RR roundhouse. Crazies, all of them.