The local oil boom could be hitting a road block even before one barrel is pumped from the ground as environmentalist mobilize against the controversial fracking method.
Thursday state environmental groups including the Nevada Wildness project will be meeting with the staff of Senate Majority leader Harry Reid D-NV to voice their concerns about oil drill in northern rural Nevada in general and fracking in particular.
“We are meeting with some of Senator Reid’s staffers Thursday to bring up our concerns about the Well at Mary’s River Ranch near Wells and the one a Fergusson’s Spring near Wendover.” said Craig Mortimore, Renewable Energy Coordinator of the Nevada Wilderness Project (NWP). “Although neither of us can confirm that the observed drilling rig is utilizing hydraulic fracturing technology, one must draw a simple inference that the altered condition of the spring is likely due to the drilling activity. It is dismaying that invasive actions like this are apparently focused upon lands where the developer evidently evades the rigors of NEPA. We see the same thing with the Mary’s River operation in that private lands are also being targeted. According to the Department of Minerals, though, the proponent has not filed for private lands drilling permits with their office.”
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Earlier this month the NWP submitted its comments about the Mary’s river test well to the BLM suggest to the agency that the company operating the well, Noble Energy, pay for a more exhaustive study on the potential impacts of the project.
“The Nevada Wilderness Project is urging the Bureau of Land Management to fully investigate the environmental and social repercussions and geological implications of a proposal to use fracking in an oil and gas exploration project near Wells, Nevada,” Mortimore wrote on the groups website. “Noble Energy has applied for permission to use hydraulic fracturing technology to explore for gas and oil near the Mary’s River west of Wells. We think they should have to do a full-on Environmental Impact Report on the proposal rather than a scaled down Environmental Assessment.
Noble is proposing to drill up to 20 oil and gas exploration wells on federal and private lands over a two-year period. They want to drill two to four test wells in the first year, with the option of shooting more holes in the ground if they need to “define” the amount of oil and gas. They’d use hydraulic fracturing to explore the underground presence of gas and oil.”
Noble Energy has leased 330,000 net acres in Northeastern Nevada and is looking for reserves of half a billion barrels with an exploratory drilling program beginning in 2013.
The drill head located just 20 miles south of Wendover near Fergusson springs is owned by Pebble Energy.
It was always known that there was some oil in the state. But the issue has been the economics. Back in the early 80’s, when oil was at a then very high $30 a barrel, the economics of exploration and production still weren’t very attractive. At $70 to $90 a barrel, the sales price vastly exceeding the lift cost causes the potential of Nevada to become far more attractive.
In addition to price fracking has put previously unrecoverable oil in reach.
Hydraulic fracturing is the propagation of fractures in a rock layer, as a result of the action of a pressurized fluid. Some hydraulic fractures form naturally—certain veins or dikes are examples—and can create conduits along which gas and petroleum from source rocks may migrate to reservoir rocks.
Induced hydraulic fracturing or hydro fracking, commonly known as fracking or fracking, is a technique used to release petroleum, natural gas (including shale gas, tight gas, and coal seam gas), or other substances for extraction.
Successful fracking has created an oil boom throughout the United States and will according to analysts help turn America into the largest oil producer in the world by the next decade.
And if preliminary tests yield anywhere near there forecasts, Wendover, Ely, Elko and Wells could become part of that boom.
However before that boom can be realized it must first pass through several bureaucratic hoops including the Environmental Protection agency and while technically not necessary win the approval of Harry Reid.
Described as a born again environmentalist Reid played a critical role in pulling the plug on two coal fired energy plants slated for White Pine County much to the ire of many local residents even after both projects won approval by the EPA and the BLM.
“The problem is that this technology sometimes pollutes groundwater and drinking water supplies. It also requires a lot of freshwater to work, which is a problem in arid Nevada. There is also the problem of leftover chemicals and improperly sealed wells. When you consider that fracking has been around since 1947, it’s kind of scary that they are still having problems doing it safely.” Mortimore added. “Another issue with fracking or any other kind of drilling is the impact on wildlife habitat. The Greater Sage-grouse, which is a candidate for the Endangered Species Act, has been greatly affected by the road-building and well-drilling that has occurred in other areas of the West where fracking is used.
Greater Sage-grouse use that Mary’s River area for strutting grounds, which are essential to the bird’s survival. Noble has assured the BLM that it will only work in the area during late summer so as to reduce impact on the birds, but we suspect their plan to build or improve 38 miles of roads in the area could have a major impact on the birds. We think the local pronghorn and migrating deer will also be affected by the roads and traffic, and that improving roads and trails in that area will increase the potential for poaching.”
Mortimore’ group could be ill equipped to mount a full scale assault on oil drilling in Nevada. Under staffed and under funded the group may be forced to shut down this year. But with the Senate majority leader as well as a newly invigorated Obama Administration ready to take on Big Oil the group is not without powerful allies. If it is successful the dream of an oil boom in rural Nevada may suddenly be deferred.