Well, there are a lot of misconceptions about this. Regardless of where you are, it always boils down to those who have the mineral rights are for it, those who don't have the mineral rights are opposed to it. I've been following this forum for many years, and there is always a sentiment against those who want to obstruct the rest of us from enjoying our property rights. I see complaints when some outsider moves in and posts their land. When they complain about the smells or dust or traffic obstruction by tractors. When zoning boards force someone to move their "treasures" out of the front yards. Mineral ownership is part of the private property rights we enjoy here in the US. When we don't like others telling us how to enjoy our surface land, the same arguement holds for how we choose to develop our mineral resources. Here are a few things to consider: 1) If it were not for fracture stimulation of wells, you would be paying a lot more for natural gas, propane, and, to a lesser extent, for gasoline. Probaby the majority of all oil and gas wells in the US are frac'd, and almost every well drilled in the northeast (NY, PA, WV, OH, KY, VA) has to be frac'd to be economical. If fraccing were outlawed, US natural gas production will decrease because it will not be economic to drill new wells in many areas. 2) Fraccing of wells is nothing new. In many areas it started in the 50's and 60's. In Appalachia, it has been standard practice since then. Like all things in the US, we've gotten better at it and now we do much larger frac jobs. 3) what is a frac job? The permeability of the shale reservoir rock (the ability for fluids - gas, oil, and water - to flow through the rock) is very low. We mix up a slurry of special sand and water and pump it into the reservoir at very high pressures. It essentially cracks the rock and the sand props open the cracks. These sand filled cracks have much better permeability and allow the fluids to flow back to the well bore. We have to add special chemicals to viscosify the water, so it will carry the sand. But we also add viscosity breakers, so that the viscous frac water (about like maple syrup) turns back into regular viscosity water after a few hours and doesn't plug up the fractures it created. Most of the water flows back to the surface, where it is disposed of according to state regulations. 4) Drinking water occurs at relatively shallow depths. The deeper you go, the saltier the water gets. State regulations require special well casings to isolate the fresh water and prevent comtamination. It depends on where you are, but it is unlikely that you would want to drink the water from a water well once it gets below 1500 or 2000'. The formations that produce oil and gas are ususally much deeper. If a well has been properly cased and cemented (and inspected by the state, which they have the right to do), the chances of surface water contamination is very small. You are probably in more danger from the lead solder in the water pipes in your house. 5) what about the horizontal wells going out for miles and draining the gas? Well, all of the area around the well has to be held under a lease by the drillers of the well. In other words, all of the landowners in the unit or pooled acreage will share in the royalties from the production. Each state generally has rules regarding how much acreage is required around each well. Does this mean that all the gas from a well comes only from the acreage under lease around the well? Maybe. In some cases, yes, but in the case of better wells, sometimes some of the production can come from outside the unit or pool. What can you do to prevent being drained in this case? Drill your own well. We work under the law of capture. If it comes out of your well, and you have the legal rights to the acreage and a unit or pool that conforms to your state's requirements, then the oil or gas is yours. 6) what if you are only the surface owner and don't have the mineral rights? Sorry. You should have bought a place where you got the mineral rights also. You should have known that the mineral owner always has the right to exploit those minerals, even if it means drilling a well right in the middle of your hay pasture. The states have rules about how close you can drill to a house or other structure, or to a water well. Otherwise, it is hard for you to deny and deprive the mineral owner from enjoying the rights of ownership. Just be thankful they just want to drill a well and not strip mine for coal. 7) what about the problems you hear about, where people have problems with their well water? Like anything else man made, problems can occur. Some of these problems may be from old wells. It takes a lot of water to drill and frac a well. In many cases, the drilling company will drill a water well along side of the gas well to provide this water. The high withdraw rates from these water wells may be part of the problem, drawing in contaminants from old nearby gas wells where the casing has corroded or the cement job has failed. Many states require regular testing of these wells, and plugging of these wells if no longer producing. If you are concerned about this, I would recommend you have a water sample taken by a testing facility before any drilling takes place. Let them come out and take the sample, so that they can testify in court later on if required. It would be a lot easier to prove damages later on if you really know what changed. I grew up on well water that was barely fit to drink, it would have been nice if we could have blamed this on somebody other than mother nature. 8) I have a rancher friend that tells me that a mineral supplement is the most important thing for success in raising cattle. And an oil or gas well is the best mineral supplement he has found so far.
As with all things, I have greatly simplified things here. The laws and rules vary in each state. I am a petroleum engineer and originally from WV, but I don't have a dog in this fight.
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