Okaloosa Opens Door to Oil and Gas Drilling

By Jeff Ayres, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach

Oct. 3–CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa County officials have opened up some north-county land to the possibility of oil and gas drilling. Commissioners gave a go-ahead Tuesday to seek proposals for mineral rights to 58.5 acres of countyowned land north and west of the Yellow River. The company selected would gain only mineral rights, not rights to surface property. Parts of State Road 189, Gilmore Road and Wilkerson Bluff Road are included in the acreage, as are portions of some other roads. The county has put together a draft lease agreement stating the company chosen would pay $10 per net mineral acre annually for three years. The county also would get royalties on whatever production is obtained.

The lease would be extended if there’s production of oil or gas, Okaloosa County Attorney John Dowd said.

Southern Resources Inc., a Mobile, Ala.-based lease broker for oil companies, has approached the county in recent months about exploring for oil and gas. Representatives made another pitch Tuesday.

Southern Resources’ Mikey Jones said the company will compete for the mineral rights. The company has explored for oil and gas for about a decade.

"It’s critical for us to own these leases so we can continue what we’re doing in terms of exploring for oil and gas," Jones said.

The county recently revised its comprehensive plan to allow oil and gas drilling in areas zoned for agricultural use.

Whoever drills for oil or gas will have to follow a slew of local, state and federal environmental regulations, including regular inspections of wells and keeping discharge from entering waterways.

"They’re very closely monitored," said Terry Jernigan, the county’s planning manager.

There are also concerns that allowing the prospect of drilling on the land will open up acreage to people with other ideas in mind.

"There may be a speculator who has no intent whatsoever to (drill) for oil," Dowd said. The company that gains those rights will have to procure a surety bond when its bid is submitted, he said. Jones said whatever may lie beneath the ground in northern Okaloosa won’t be known until the drilling is done. An Oklahoma oil company drilled off Antioch Road in Crestview in 2003, but found nothing.

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