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Landowners File Protest Against Oil, Gas Commission

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

Aug. 2--DENVER -- Metro-area landowners will file a protest with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to block an oil-and-gas industry "land grab" that would double the number of natural-gas wells on 1.5 million acres in Weld and Adams counties.

Three companies -- Kerr McGee Rocky Mountain Corp., EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. and Noble Energy Production Inc. -- filed an application with the commission in June seeking permission to increase their drilling capacity. A hearing is set for Aug. 15.

Denver lawyer Lance Astrella, representing several landowners and developers, will file an intervention action with the commission by Aug. 8. Astrella said the oil and gas companies are seeking to double the number of wells on land owned by other private parties, without any compensation to those owners.

"The oil companies already use more land than they need under the current regulations," Astrella said. "The proposed regulations would only exacerbate the already inequitable situation. It's a blatant land grab."

If the oil companies would adopt more comprehensive directional drilling techniques they would actually reduce the amount of land that they occupy, he said. Directional drilling involves the diagonal boring of wells and allows for the concentration of well pads in one location rather than spreading them out over vast areas of land.

"Yet the oil companies persist in drilling vertical wells because they don't want to spend the extra money for directional wells," Astrella said.

Existing regulations for the Wattenberg Field in Weld and Adams counties limit the number of wells to five clusters of three wells within 160 acres. In unincorporated areas, building is restricted to 150 feet around a well, which takes up 1.6 acres. Within metropolitan areas, the no-build zone lengthens to as much as 350 feet around a well, which takes up 8.8 acres.

The oil companies' application is similar to one filed five years ago by Barrett Resources Inc. to increase the density of well pads near Rifle and Parachute. The commission rejected that application in September 2000.

To view the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission's hearing notice in the current matter, go to its Web site: http://oil-gas.state.co.us/.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Greeley Tribune, Colo.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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KMG, ECA, NBL,

Source: Greeley Tribune, Colorado

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