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Wildcat well under way between Fort Davis, Alpine |
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By STERRY BUTCHER
JEFF DAVIS COUNTY – An oil and gas drilling rig is going up in the vicinity of Musquiz Canyon.
The wildcat well was permitted December 2 by Pinnacle Mining Corporation, an outfit out of Midland. According to the Texas Railroad Commission permit, the new well will be drilled to 9,400 feet on ranchland about 13 miles northeast of Fort Davis.
No one from Pinnacle Mining was available for comment on Wednesday.
Although oil and gas drilling has been wildly productive elsewhere in the state, as near as Sanderson, drilling in the Big Bend has not historically met with success.
“There’s just not much production in your area,” said Ramona Nye, spokesperson for the Railroad Commission.
Records accessible from the Texas Railroad Commission indicate that no oil or gas was produced in Jeff Davis County from January 1993 to January 2009.
In that same time period, 2,406 barrels of oil was produced in Presidio County and 48 barrels of oil was produced in Brewster County.
The presence of the Musquiz Canyon wildcat well was news to Jeff Davis County Judge George Grubb this week.
“A gas well was drilled last year, but I don’t believe it produced,” he said. “That’s the only one I know of, until now,” he said.
Janet Adams is the general manager of the county’s underground water conservation district. Oil and gas drilling sometimes requires great quantities of water. She knew of the drilling operation, but her district had not issued Pinnacle any permits for water wells. The reason – no water permits are needed.
“The drilling of water wells solely to support a rig actively engaged in drilling for oil and gas is totally exempt from permitting from us,” she explained.
“It’s in the state water code.”
Regulations exist to help protect the environment, said Nye.
“The Railroad Commission has strict requirements on how the drilling is constructed so that the groundwater is protected,” she said. “There has to be several layers of steel casing and cement to ensure there is no impact to groundwater.”
One passerby reported that the drilling site was awash in bright lights and a guard was stationed at the rig’s entrance on Hwy. 118, about halfway between Fort Davis and Alpine.
Another passerby noted that he’d seen oil and gas drilling destroy other parts of the state. If the wildcatters make a hit, area resident Dr. J.P. Schwartz worried that the region’s intact beauty and quality of life may suffer.
“I’ve watched other places turn into a polluted mess and it would do the same in Fort Davis,” he said. “It could directly impact the light and clean air and the water table. It could have a drastic effect on the area.” |
