Ranchers Join Fight To Limit Drilling at Otero Mesa

The Albuquerque Journal (subscription required) ^ | July 31, 2003 | Tania Soussan

[CedarDave]

A test by Sandia National Laboratories found more than seven times the total dissolved solids normally in fresh water and the presence of E. coli and coliform bacteria.

I wonder if they also tested the ranchers stock tank and watering hole.

[FreeInWV]

Paragon working with environmentalists??????

My weird-shit-o-meter just pegged. I'm gonna go crawl in my bomb shelter.

[Dr Warmoose]

In other news, the united States is still dependant on terrorist sponsoring nation Saudi Arabia...

[marron]

Maybe we should study the effects of cattle ranching on the environment.

Most people have a view of oil production that comes out of old movies. There are ways of drilling in sensitive areas that take up very little space, and the oilfields in these cases can be almost pristine.

And oil companies these days are aggressive about cleaning up spills. I have seen them in action, and within hours of even a major spill you wouldn't know there had ever been a problem.

A runoff pond is not going to destroy the grasslands. In fact, even major production will not destroy a grassland. Endangered species live quite comfortably alongside production wells, as do every other kind of critter. In our area, for a number of years we were having to jump through hoops to protect kit foxes. But the kit foxes already lived in the oil fields, in fact I have spotted them in town. Oil production, especially modern production, endangers nothing.

[CedarDave]

Please pass on to your PING lists.

[talleyman]

None of those ranchers would be grazing those grasslands, would they?...

[CedarDave]

What grass? There ain't none. Ever driven between El Paso and Alamogordo??

[CedarDave]

And oil companies these days are aggressive about cleaning up spills. I have seen them in action, and within hours of even a major spill you wouldn't know there had ever been a problem.

Some are and some aren't. Depends on the corporate culture and the local regulatory agency. The big boys are pretty good about that stuff, but some independents just trying stay alive on a 5 bbl/day stripper well will dig and cover if it makes the difference between operating and shutting down.

[BOBTHENAILER]

The Otero Mesa is just one more example of enviro extremism hindering a valid, safe, relatively harmless search for natural gas. It Is a friggin' travesty.

A national data base for these lawsuits needs to be established and you are right, anybody who has ever traveled that area would immediately recognize the frivolous nature of this mess.

[Recon by Fire]

What grass? There ain't none. Ever driven between El Paso and Alamogordo??

Well there are few blades on the side of highway 54.

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.

Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.

[Dog Gone]

Threshold Development Co. of Fort Worth dumped dirty water into a reserve pit at an Otero Mesa site where it plans to begin drilling soon.

I've never seen one filled with Culligan water. I guess I must have missed the latest regulation printed in CFR.

[Double Tap]

Someone clue me in here. Why would this be a private property rights issue? The drilling would be on BLM land, right?

[CedarDave]

Ranchers and oil companies always fight -- unless the rancher owns the mineral rights and leases them to the oil company for $$, and even then they fight over royalties. In this area most of the mineral rights are federal and the surface can be private, state or BLM. If the rancher has made improvements at his own expense, he doesn't want those damaged. And surfaces damages do occur -- anything from a rig or support truck hitting a cattle guard to having someone drive off the right of way. I know - I've seen it. I try to stay on the pads though -- those nasty mesquite are just too much for my truck tires. Last week I had to patch two because of leaks.

[Double Tap]

Oh, I know all about landowner/leaseholder issues. My father runs several stripper well operations and I help him out on occasion.

But this appears to be an issue of ranchers running livestock on BLM land not wanting oil companies to be able to exercise legal leases. That is not a private property rights matter, IMHO.

[CedarDave]

I think you nailed it -- there is very little grass there to start with, and taking even a small chunk for pads or roads will mean they have to reduce the number of cows or artificially feed them (which I'm sure they're doing anyway since the monsoons haven't come so far this summer).

[FreeLibertarian]

In other news, the united States is still dependant on terrorist sponsoring nation Saudi Arabia...

The U.S. buys oil from Saudi Arabia not natural gas. The Otero Mesa area is a potential natural gas field, even if it turns out to be a huge producer it will not effect the U.S.'s oil imports from Saudi Arabia or anybody else.

[Dr Warmoose]

The U.S. buys oil from Saudi Arabia not natural gas.

I fully recognize that. I also recognize that natural gas and oil also serve as fuels for electric generating plants. When the price of one goes up, then those plants that can use the other, do so.

Natural gas is enjoying great populatity right now despite its relatively high price because the EPA makes oil burning that much more expensive. Given domestic source of both natural gas and oil, the costs of electrity generation drop which usually serves as a great way for domestic industries more competitive in the world market. With more oil available, the increased supply would reduce the demand for the more expensive natural gas. With the fickle situation of the Middle East, oil futures laden with risk aversion tend to run higher making natural gas consumption higher, decreasing the supply...

Natural gas only plays a part in the energy equation.

[FreeLibertarian]

I fully recognize that. I also recognize that natural gas and oil also serve as fuels for electric generating plants. When the price of one goes up, then those plants that can use the other, do so.

Oil is far too expensive to use as a fuel for electrical generation except under extreme or emergency conditions; for example portable generators use diesel fuel because of its availabilty for rapid deployment situations. Oil is not even considered as a fuel for site built power plants except for emergency backups, for example during a disruption of the gas supply dur to pipeline problems.

New electrical generation power plants use natural gas in a gas turbine configuration because of the ability to bring the plants online very rapidly, the overall efficency of the gas turbine design, and their extremely low emmissions. The gas turbine can be used most effectively in a demand management or "peaking" profile. Oil is far too expensive to use in a similar configuration except on a local basis primarily as diesel generators. Typically this occurs during demand curtailment periods when extremely high demand charges are in effect. Even those applications are gradually being converted to natural gas sources as new equipment and distribution systems become available.

Almost all base load power plants use coal as the fuel source because of it low cost.

A very few antiquated oil burning power plants still exist nationwide but they are never used except on an emergency basis and are being phased out as rapidly as possible. They are far too expensive to operate. Natural gas is enjoying great populatity right now despite its relatively high price because the EPA makes oil burning that much more expensive. Given domestic source of both natural gas and oil, the costs of electrity generation drop which usually serves as a great way for domestic industries more competitive in the world market. With more oil available, the increased supply would reduce the demand for the more expensive natural gas. With the fickle situation of the Middle East, oil futures laden with risk aversion tend to run higher making natural gas consumption higher, decreasing the supply...

Natural gas only plays a part in the energy equation.

The price of oil would have to drop to pre-1973 levels and remain there for an extended period of time before it would become viable as an alternative source for cost effective electrical generation. Even then a huge investment in infastructure modifications would be required. Obviously neither of those things is going to happen.

The price of natural gas has risen because we have greatly increased its usuage for the previously mentioned "peaking" generators. Even if all EPA regulations concerning oil burning were revoked oil would not be a competitor for natural gas for electrical generation purposes.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!