Shale Gas Wells Could Begin Production Soon In Dallas, TX
ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO is set to begin drilling Dallas’ first shale gas well, which is located in the Barnett Shale play.
Compared to the rest of Texas, Dallas has not jumped on the shale gas boom as quickly as other cities, mostly because experts say there is less gas in Dallas than in other parts of the Barnett Shale.
But that’s not stopping the city from extracting what resources they have in order to boost the economy. Leasing city-owned land to gas companies has already brought Dallas $34.9 million without even one well being drilled, an article in The Dallas Morning News reports. On top of that, the city will get 25 per cent of the proceeds once gas starts flowing.
And that money can make its way to the everyday citizen.
When a whole neighborhood agrees to drilling, the 25 percent is divided among all homeowners who signed, the paper says.
Currently, Dallas has 25 operating wells, though 78 permits for exploration are valid throughout the county.
Companies like Trinity East and XTO are waiting on the city to approve their permits so they can begin drilling.
Though shale drilling is heavily regulated, some of the hold up is stemming from the environmental concerns which have been highly touted in other shale plays across the country.
“We know the gas is there; we know the city needs the gas for the revenue,” says Raymond Crawford, an artist who has organized residents groups to monitor gas drilling in Dallas. “But there’s a lot of loose ends that continually come unraveled and need to be wrapped up.”
Large-scale protests, however, seem unlikely according to the Dallas Morning News. The city’s first prospective well is located on an old Navy base that is 1,000 feet from the nearest homes, far beyond the 300-foot minimum protection zone the city established.
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Posted by admin
on August 23rd, 2010. Filed under Barnett Shale, Shale Basins.
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