Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Carolyn on November 30, 2009 at 6:34am

Aren't royalties the reason anyone signs over their land to a gas drilling company? Or do they do it to help the environment? Research, no , instead they made the mistake of trusting Cabot when they were told " fracking" is perfectly safe. One of them has received two royalty checks for far in the amount of $45. One can hardly blame the families for the fact that their water is ruined and their real estate value severely impacted. By the way, those well casings break up over time which means the carcinogenic chemicals contained within leach into the water aquifer and it does not get better over time.

Permalink Reply by Robert Odenthal on November 30, 2009 at 6:55am

I am amazed at the amount of stupidity that you show in your reply. Hydraulic fracturing is safe. I have been in this business for 22 years and never had a problem. To say the casing rots and release all of those items is totally false. They are cemented off to provide isolation between them and the fresh water. I believe in Cabots case there is at least two casing string crossing the fresh water. What happen there is done to some cowboy not doing his job. You can not blame Cabot, but the person who did not do their job on location. Yes it is thier wells, but a wellsite supervisor can direct and tell people what to do, but if someone from a service company does not do thier job -well what can you do. I believe Cabot will tighten up its game, but I would be more worried about these small operators who are biting off more than they can chew. Wells in Pennslyvannia have been frac'd over the years. Even these vertical wells that was being drillled over the years was frac'd. This is just not something new with the Marcellus. Wake up and stop injectiing what you think is tue and from what you think is true. It is people with the lack of information and mis-information they put out that hurts this industry. Thier royality is directly related to rate, time and price, maybe 45 dollars is all they deserved. That was for how long and how much rate. What is the royality interest. If you do not understand the business, do some research, if not stay out of it.

Permalink Reply by Mowing the pipeline on November 30, 2009 at 4:07pm

What happen there is done to some cowboy not doing his job. You can not blame Cabot, but the person who did not do their job on location.
I can believe this if mudmixing hasn't changed since i roughnecked years ago. Just slash open the bags and estimate what the mix was. Set the bags up "just right" on the mixer and take a nap. More art than science.

Permalink Reply by Bonnie Gray on November 30, 2009 at 4:35pm

lighten up people, we have been blessed with this natural resource, use it

Permalink Reply by I wanna be a SHALEIONAIRE too! on January 12, 2010 at 5:39am

I didnt see your name on our list...mind your own business! and dont talk crap on us! Deserve........................oooohh what we deserve is coming

Permalink Reply by Rita McConnell on November 30, 2009 at 8:11am

The water problem at this point is moot -- nat gas is not hazardous, and DEP, after extensive study, has stated frac fluid was not involved. The wells have been vented for nat gas, Cabot has accepted blame, and new water sources are being provided. These people may well have a water issue, but its not from gas drilling.

I think these people are being taken advantage of by attorneys looking to make a name for themselves in this kind of litigation and activists looking to make a point at any cost. I'm no lawyer, but I've worked on the regulation side. Seems unikely that a court would lay additional responsibility on the company, particuarly when they've already admitted guilt and begun to make amends. Additionally, the confusion that abounded in the news release I saw for the lawsuit illustrates the point -- apparently they're suing under RCRA, a federal law, but the release said it was the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, which is a PA state law. Seems to me like a "throw the spghetti at the wall" kind of thing. Even if there is a settlement, it'll likely be eaten up by attorney's fees.

Permalink Reply by Ralph Kisberg on November 30, 2009 at 3:59pm

"These people may well have a water issue, but its not from gas drilling." Dream on Rita.