oil and gas

Delays with the Moneta Divide EIS frustrate supporters

Irina Zhorov — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:12:42 +0000

Encana’s Moneta Divide Natural Gas and Oil Development Project outside of Casper is still waiting for an Environmental Impact Statement, but it is slated to receive a record of decision in 2016. The proposed four thousand well development has brought up questions surrounding water management and air quality. But at the legislature’s Joint Mineral, Business, and Economic Development Interim Committee meeting yesterday, Natrona County Commissioner Rob Hendry said he wants the project to go ahead.

Gov. Mead releases WY energy policy

Irina Zhorov — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:54:34 +0000

Governor Matt Mead and his policy director, Shawn Reese, released an energy policy for Wyoming at a press conference today. The policy contains 47 initiatives broken down into categories including economic competitiveness and expansion, regulation, conservation, and education. Reese said there were a number of hallmark initiatives.

Tripower Resources says they're not responsible for back taxes

Irina Zhorov — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:58:11 +0000

A lawsuit filed by Tripower Resources says the energy company is not responsible for about $885,000 in back taxes from 2008 to 2010. Tripower says it did not own the wells from which these production taxes accumulated during the time period in question. But Campbell, Crook, and Converse Counties have listed the company as tax-delinquent. They’re applying taxes from current production to the owed back-taxes. Converse County treasurer Joel Schell says, according to statute, the current owner is responsible for any unpaid taxes.

Report says states need to better monitor water usage by the oil and gas industry

Irina Zhorov — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:38:47 +0000

A report by the Western Organization of Resource Councils says the oil and gas industry is using at least seven billion gallons of water per year in just four states: Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota. The report says after industry is done with that water, it turns into a hazardous material, and in some cases cannot be reused for other purposes.

Powder River Basin Resource Council member Robert LeResche says he’s also worried about states’ lack of regulations regarding the quantity of water used.

Encana needs to satisfy EPA's concerns before injecting into Madison aquifer

Irina Zhorov — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:26:05 +0000

The Environmental Protection Agency is asking for more information from Encana Oil and Gas before signing off on the company’s request for an aquifer exemption. Encana wants to pump waste water into the Madison Aquifer from their oil and gas field in the Moneta Divide. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has already approved the request, but the EPA says the modeling of the plume that Encana did is too broad and the agency wants more information about why, according to Encana, the relatively clean water can’t be used for other purposes .

Native American leader says protecting water rights is key for tribes

Irina Zhorov — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:26:34 +0000

Native American tribes need to make sure they are protecting their natural resources. Eastern Shoshone Business Council member Wes Martel, from the Wind River Indian Reservation, spoke during a University of Wyoming American Indian Studies program this week. Martel said tribes need to be more careful about the kinds of contracts they enter into for energy development. He added that water is the new gold but very few tribes are taking real steps to secure this resource.

Oil and gas operators flaring more gas, paying no taxes or royalties

Irina Zhorov — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 23:14:31 +0000

Oil development in the state is bringing up natural gas along with the oil, but some of the gas is getting burned off in flares and the state is missing out on taxes and royalty payments. The reason the gas is getting flared is that there are not enough pipelines in place to connect new wells to markets.

The President of the Wyoming Petroleum Association, Bruce Hinchey, says it doesn’t always make sense to build new pipelines for the relatively small quantities of gas coming up.

Environmental groups praise last week's ruling on BLM leases

Bob Beck — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:52:52 +0000

A Federal appeals court recently ruled that the Bureau of Land management did not do a thorough job in determining the effects of some oil and gas leases sold between 2005 and 2010 in Wyoming and Utah.

Governor wants a preferred plan concerning drilling project

Sara Hossaini — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:44:52 +0000

Governor Matt Mead is urging the Bureau of Land Management to select a preferred alternative plan for oil and gas development in Carbon and Sweetwater Counties.

The BLM’s 900-page Draft Environmental Impact Statement focuses on the proposed Continental Divide-Creston Natural Gas Development, or CD-C Project.

Governor Mead says the project could create thousands of jobs, but he wants to make sure it’s done right.

Oil & gas inspectors not keeping up with growing energy development

Irina Zhorov — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 00:13:55 +0000

The Western Organization of Resource Councils says inspections of active oil and gas wells in the West are falling behind the industry’s quick growth. The new report says the number of active oil and gas wells in Wyoming has risen from about 16,400 in 1999 to more than 37,000 in 2011. The number of inspectors increased from 6 to 12 in the same time period. Each inspector was responsible for more than 3,000 wells in 2011.

Powder River Basin Resource Council Board Chairman John Fenton says that spreads each inspector thin.

Senate amends bill to protect land surface owners from mineral exploration companies

Rebecca Martinez — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:32:44 +0000

The Wyoming Senate continued work on a bill that would require companies doing seismic exploration for minerals to post bonds or negotiate a contract with the surface owners.

Proponents say seismic operators sometimes trespass on private property.

WY legislature to consider a bill establishing seismic exploration bonds

Irina Zhorov — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:11:05 +0000

The Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee will introduce a bill that would modify bonds for seismic exploration for oil and gas on private land. If passed, companies doing any seismic exploration would have to put up a $5,000 bond for the first 1,000 acres being explored, with increases for acreage beyond that. The outgoing chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Kermit Brown of Laramie, said there have been complaints about the current regulations.

Proposed Federal Fracking Rules Delayed

Madison Williams — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:13:52 +0000

The Department of Interior has authorized a 60 day extension of the comment period for the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed hydraulic fracturing regulations, following concerns from the oil and gas industry. The rules would call for companies that use fracking to disclose the chemicals they use, and address waste water and drilling issues.

Groups sue to stop Fortification Creek development

Bob Beck — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:14:28 +0000

Two Wyoming conversation groups have joined others in suing to protect the Fortification Creek area of the Powder River Basin from natural gas development.

The Wyoming Outdoor Council and Powder River Basic Resource Council complain that the Bureau of Land Management approved a plan to allow coalbed methane development in an area that was previously protected from energy development.

Retired B-L-M Wildlife Biologist Larry Gerard says the move surprised him because the area is filled with wildlife.

The Wyoming Oil and Gas Supervisor resigns

Bob Beck — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 23:10:13 +0000

The Wyoming Oil and Gas Supervisor Tom Doll has resigned.

Doll recently apologized for saying greed is motivating people in the Pavillion area who blame hydraulic fracturing for polluting the groundwater around the small central Wyoming community.

The remark was made at a meeting of regulators in Vancouver. Renny MacKay, a spokesman for Governor Mead said that Doll’s remarks didn’t reflect the view of the Matt Mead administration.

More than half of federal oil and gas leases idle

Willow Belden — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:47:32 +0000

More than half of the public lands in the continental U.S. that have been leased to oil and gas companies are not actually being drilled, according to a report by the Department of the Interior.

Bruce Hinchey of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming says that’s because there are so many hoops that oil and gas companies have to jump through. He says it often takes over a year to get a permit to drill. And Environmental Impact Statements, which are required for large-scale energy development, take even longer.

Western state officials say feds shouldn't regulate drilling

Associated Press — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:37:59 +0000

Western state officials took turns bashing the
federal government at a congressional field hearing on proposed
nationwide drilling rules on hydraulic fracturing.
But Democrats on the panel Wednesday, along with some Colorado
environmental activists, insisted that health concerns around the
drilling procedure known as fracking mean there is a need for
common health and safety standards.
Officials from Colorado, Wyoming and Utah testified before the

Company is still optimistic about Niobrara Oil Shale

Willow Belden — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:46:22 +0000

Wells drilled in the Niobrara shale in southeastern Wyoming aren’t producing nearly as much oil as some had expected. But Anadarko Petroleum, one of the big oil companies exploring the shale, expressed nothing but optimism at a Business Expo in Cheyenne Tuesday.

Wyoming's Niobrara shale is producing less than hoped

Rebecca Martinez — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:34:57 +0000

Wells drilled in the Wyoming part of the Niobrara Shale are producing less than half the amount of oil that wells in Colorado are producing. That’s according to Wyoming Oil and Gas Supervisor Tom Doll, who discussed the matter with lawmakers late last week. However, Bruce Hinchey of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming isn’t discouraged.

Board of Land Commissioners supports Oil and Gas changes

Bob Beck — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:01:19 +0000

The Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners voted unanimously this/Thursday morning to approve a new lease form that will govern oil and gas extraction on state lands. Assistant Director of the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments Harold Kemp says the new form puts in writing many longstanding state requirements. For example, he says, it clarifies what deductions industry may claim before making royalty payments to the state. Kemp says the changes have been a long time coming.