Plus CI, which are almost always overlooked/understated IMHO.
Threat to Wyoming migration
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AvidIndoorsman
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Honestly I kinda thing this is just a hedge against a Bernie election. Might has get all the permits you will ever need for the life of your company in the bank before the guy who wants to ban all permitting of federal land becomes president.
buffybr
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If Bernie would become President, this project would be just a drop in the bucket of the problems Americans would face.
AvidIndoorsman
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Don't drive this thread off a cliff.
All I'm saying is the Jonah probably saw the writing on the wall. Their entire asset is on public land. Makes sense they would try to make hay while a pro public land permitting administration is in office.
buffybr
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My observations of most oil and gas drilling is that there is a lot of human activity for the first years of the operation, then when the drillers leave the only things left are two track roads to the scattered well pumps.
I've been driving through Wyoming from Montana to Denver several times every year since I moved to Montana in 1975. I've seen many oil well drill sites that if they didn't prove out, they reclaimed the ground, and today most people couldn't see that there ever was a drill rig there.
In the last couple of years they have been putting in an oil pipeline along I-25 between Casper and Douglas, WY. As they have finished the Casper end, the pipeline is buried, the ground re-contoured and seeded, and when the sagebrush grows back, you won't know that it's there.
For the past 15-20 years I have antelope hunted east of Broadus, MT. About 5 years ago they were putting in a 30" oil pipeline through the BLM/private land where we hunted. Again they buried the pipe and re-countered the ground and a couple of years later, unless you are right on the site, you can't see any evidence that there is a pipeline buried there.
On the other hand, solar panel sites become a permanent fixture that is completely fenced off. As near as I can tell, the large windmill towers are spaced about 1/4 mile apart, and although they aren't fenced off, they become a permanent above ground fixture.
I've been driving through Wyoming from Montana to Denver several times every year since I moved to Montana in 1975. I've seen many oil well drill sites that if they didn't prove out, they reclaimed the ground, and today most people couldn't see that there ever was a drill rig there.
In the last couple of years they have been putting in an oil pipeline along I-25 between Casper and Douglas, WY. As they have finished the Casper end, the pipeline is buried, the ground re-contoured and seeded, and when the sagebrush grows back, you won't know that it's there.
For the past 15-20 years I have antelope hunted east of Broadus, MT. About 5 years ago they were putting in a 30" oil pipeline through the BLM/private land where we hunted. Again they buried the pipe and re-countered the ground and a couple of years later, unless you are right on the site, you can't see any evidence that there is a pipeline buried there.
On the other hand, solar panel sites become a permanent fixture that is completely fenced off. As near as I can tell, the large windmill towers are spaced about 1/4 mile apart, and although they aren't fenced off, they become a permanent above ground fixture.
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Irrelevant
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Death by a thousand cuts. It's never "this" project that does anything in.
Fj605
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Some areas would require shutting down drilling and completions operations. Some areas would just require closing some roads.
We also had "handcuffs" (for lack of a better word) on how many sections we could occupy with a drilling rig in a given year. It had to be a continuous development and not jumping around all over the place.
A lot of the permitting that's happening on federal lands are in direct response to the election. Everytime Colorado purposes new setback requirements, there's a permitting spree. Same thing on the federal level.
I haven't followed this much so has an operator been permitting all of this or is it that the BLM is prepping for a lease sale?
Sounds like drilling has T/Ls, but not production. Same thing as where I am familiar, but just checking. I have not issue with this, I just was looking for an education for other areas.
In my county, much different than targets in WY, I always thought it was funny that we T/L drilling activities that take 48 hours to drill, but no limits on water hauling or maintenance in those same sensitive areas during the same time periods.
Not much of an issue over here in the last decade....thanks ND.
In my county, much different than targets in WY, I always thought it was funny that we T/L drilling activities that take 48 hours to drill, but no limits on water hauling or maintenance in those same sensitive areas during the same time periods.
Not much of an issue over here in the last decade....thanks ND.
Or it could be the "Fair Returns for Public Lands Act of 2020"?
MO Betta
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Probably the more likely answer.
AvidIndoorsman
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I'm not sure that legislation is relevant to the permitting process. Jonah already had the lease, this act just increases minimum bids and the royalty rate (BTW I fully support this act I think it's working towards fixing some huge problems in the industry), but it doesn't have any particular language about development, well counts, surface use impact, etc.
The main take away I was trying to communicate is that currently the industry is in a slump and the rig count across the country is way down, in the short term this project is likely to move very slowly if at all, in the long term this project was permitted for maximum development to give the operator options. My assumption is that within that development block there are geological irregularities (thinning of certain benches, faulting etc) that may lead to partial development. That to maximize RR Jonah will try to drill on a 2 mile basis where possible and that Jonah will try to operate within cashflow, which if they aren't well hedge currently meaning very little short term development.
There will certainly be disturbance and environmental impacts, but it's not 10' in the Bakken or 14' in the Permian. In all likelihood Jonah will start off running 1 rig on this project, doing pad development, I would guess at most 15 wells per 2 mile unit, probably more like 6-12 (I'm not familiar enough with the Jonah to know how many formations they have to drill) and that they will drill around 30 wells a year so ~ 3 pads and 12 acres of surface use + roads + gathering systems.
Certainly far less habitat impact then a solar facility.
Irrelevant
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@wllm1313 sure it might be in a slump, but we haven't cleaned up from the last boom (https://www.eenews.net/stories/1061342691) let's pump the brakes on setting the next one up.
From the article:
"Since 2014, nearly 6,000 wells on state and private Wyoming land have been orphaned. Less than half of those have been plugged. That work has cost approximately $12.7 million so far, according to a state update in September. Bonding — the security that industry lays down ahead of drilling for cleanup liabilities — covered just 18% of the cost, according to state records. But in a stark difference with the federal crisis, Wyoming has a financial stream to pay for cleanup."
We yeah let's grant some more access on those federal properties. What bad could happen? Nothing a few more taxpayer dollars can't fix down the road.
From the article:
"Since 2014, nearly 6,000 wells on state and private Wyoming land have been orphaned. Less than half of those have been plugged. That work has cost approximately $12.7 million so far, according to a state update in September. Bonding — the security that industry lays down ahead of drilling for cleanup liabilities — covered just 18% of the cost, according to state records. But in a stark difference with the federal crisis, Wyoming has a financial stream to pay for cleanup."
We yeah let's grant some more access on those federal properties. What bad could happen? Nothing a few more taxpayer dollars can't fix down the road.
AvidIndoorsman
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I don't disagree. In my mind there should be a public lands premium for any kind of energy development.
On the other side of the coin the permitting process should be revamped so that the public gets a better sense of the actually project. To my earlier point this is a 3500 well project, that in actuality is probably more like a 300 well project over 5+ years, I think there are some things you could do to streamline the permitting process that would make things more transparent.
With regard to your article... keeping track of uneconomic vertical wells is the most tedious and frustrating part of my job, every acquisition you make always includes 200+ garbage wells you have to deal with.
Irrelevant
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or not.
AvidIndoorsman
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Which is the argument for why you want people who give a shit working as operators.
Irrelevant
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Or why you wouldn't push for more drilling on federal lands.
AvidIndoorsman
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What happens in 20 years when sweet water solar goes out of business and those panels have degraded and are uneconomic... who foots the bill for pulling 700 acres of panels out of the ground and disposing of them.
Or are we just going to pretend that they are going to last forever?
Irrelevant
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At least we can find them.
Or better yet, show me 3,000 abandoned solar projects and we'll call it apples to apples.
