MY RATIONALE FOR SIGNING
Hello folks. I wanted to share with you my rationale for signing that you might find helpful when talking to your neighbors, relatives or others who think you're actions are going to "ruin" the environment.
In Stark County, at least, there are thousands of existing oil well, oil well sites and storage sites. Pay attention next time you drive in a rural area. I remember when those wells went in in the 1960's and the "hoopla" and concern they raised. Everyone of those sites have land that is already leased. Those leases are being sub-leased or purchased by shale exploration companies (as evidenced by the Stark County Recorder's office website). That land is already gone. I have a very long driveway, a well and a pond. I am surrounded by farm fields that are evidently already leased, as I can see 2 oil wells while traveling down my drive and 2 behind my property. Chances are, I could be looking at a fracking well at anytime in the near future.
IF my home is within 1000 ft. of any well, they have to test my water before, during and after. IF my home is NOT within 1000 ft. but fracking starts nearby, I will have my water tested and certified by a private lab and also have the extension service or someone qualified to do a report on my half-acre pond. IF anything happens to my water sources, I at least have documentation of their condition before any fracking takes place. I suggest you all do the same. It's not enough to say "you ruined my water", because the typical response from anyone would be "how do we know your water wasn't bad to begin with?". And unlike most wells in the county, mine is spring-fed and I have excellent water with no water conditioning systems attached. Wells go dry all the time. Some wells in the county actually have methane in the water. These conditions are NOT just caused by fracking, as there are no fracking wells in Stark County at this time.
Can accidents happen? You betcha! Through the decades people have been killed, burned, blown up on oil well sites, during storage tank explosions, etc. Storage tanks have leaked into water supplies in this county. Those issues were dealt with and will be dealt with again in the future. It happens.
IF I don't sign, my rights/royalties/gas/oil will become part of the "pooling & unitization" within the lease. These royalties are used to pay for the equipment, site prep, overhead, etc.
So, considering I could be surrounded by wells and be affected by them, I signed. Oil wells in this county have become so common place that we don't even notice them anymore. They are "Clinton" wells (most of them) or storage facilities and many are no longer producing or at least producing up to original capacity. Many homes are heated free via those wells and many folks are still receving royalty checks from them. Fracking is a new procedure, but selling off oil/gas leases and living with oil wells in our back yards is NOT new.
Views: 173
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by David Mohn on
-
AMEN! Those are some of the same reasons I signed back in November. In the past there was a well here and they plugged it back in the 90s. My land is just the same as it was when I was a kid. I will have my water tested this year and every year after at my expense. I want a base line in case they do drill again somewhere near me. Maybe I will have to pay for 5 or 6 test samples but I will know what my water well is like and if it changes or stays the same after a couple of years.
I think this nation of ours needs to stand on our own two feet again. I am tired of every time someone in the OPEC world hicups, the price of oil goes up $20 a barrel. Let us produce our own oil and gas and then we can pay a proper amount for gas at the pumps.
Just my thoughts.
-
-
Permalink Reply by James Kerns on
-
Hello, I have read and re-read your post as with most others on this site from and concerning Ohio landowners. I would respectfully like to give some insight about some common misconceptions out there, and no, i do not work in the oil and gas industry. I will state for the record i did for several years work as a well tender or "pumper" and i attended college for two years as a petroleum engineering and geologist student.
The first would address fresh water source contamination issues and also "fracking" concerns. To my knowledge water sources are protected industry wide and nationwide by many laws on the books and common practices in the industry to prevent accidental contamination by fluids and gas produced.
When a well is drilled and before it is "fracked" and put into production, several things are done by law. When the first several hundred feet of a new well is drilled a casing, usually 10", is placed in and cemented in place to protect all possible fresh water zones. When drilling resumes and a depth is reached down to the top of the first production zone, a second casing is placed and cemented in back to the surface.
So, you have two layers each of casing and cement to protect your water sources. Our water well in Bloomfield Twp. Trumbull county is around 30' from the surface. How deep is yours? Accidents happen and contamination occurs usually at the surface by sloppy employees and operators.
"Fracking" a term used for hydraulic fracturing, is an extremely common method for increasing net permeability around the borehole down in the formation to be produced, to increase flow rate of the fluids and gas back up the tubing.
This is done to fracture the rock formation with fluid (freshwater and sometimes additives) pumped under pressure, and add propants (sand) to keep the fractures open. I am not sure exactly when this practice began, but i would not hesitate to say since at least the 1950's, and most wells you see in production going back that far, it was used.
Drilling several bores from the same location and the lateral drilling is the part of these shale wells that is new and strange to us as most wells in the eastern states are one borehole straight down per wellhead location.
There are many other areas of this new shale play we could discuss, but for now be not afraid of that which you dont understand. Gather information and dont sign anything until an oil and gas attorney reviews it for you. Dont let said attorney take all your money. Negotiate effectively or find someone knowledgable you trust to do it for you. Everything is negotiable in an Oil and Gas Lease contract. Dont take the first offer presented and get all promises in writing. Good luck and God Bless. Respectfully, Jim Kerns
-
Top Content
Latest Activity
© 2024 Created by Keith Mauck (Site Publisher).
Powered by
