According to this announcement  received via email,   “The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York invites you to attend the following public information sessions beginning Thursday, September 3, 2009 to present facts and updates regarding natural gas exploration in your region. Other dates and locations: 9-8-09: Bernie’s Restaurant, Rock Hill.   9-10-09. SUNY Oneonta, Hunt Union.   10-1-09. Morrisville State College Theatre. Morrisville, NY.”  (Please visit the CottageWorks Community Calendar for event details.)

Interestingly, these meetings are being billed as informational sessions.  At an alternative website for The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York,  the Association makes clear their intent in organizing these events,  “Thank you for visiting MarcellusFacts.com – your source for information about the benefits of natural gas exploration of the Marcellus Shale…”

These events are being organized in New York State on the heels of Governor Paterson’s announcement that exploitation of the natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale in New York State is part of his energy plan.  Yesterday’s Times Herald Record published a story entitled, “Gas Companies Prepare to Drill in Sullivan.”

Steve Israel’s article tells us who The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York  is, what they have planned for New York State, and more particularly, Sullivan County.  “After delaying drilling of the gas-rich shale beneath Sullivan for much of the year, the industry is ready to resume leasing land once the state’s new environmental standards are released, perhaps as early as next month. Drilling of the Marcellus shale could start in the spring.”

“We’ll do it and we’re looking to do it, once the regulatory hurdles are cleared. Then the permits will flow,” said Brad Gill, executive director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York.”

Recently, 2,000 pro-drilling advocates rallied in New York with the mantra of “Drill, baby, drill.”

I will be attending the  9-8-09 “session” at Bernie’s Restaurant in Rock Hill, NY  and hope to see you there, too.

3 thoughts on “Gas Drilling in Sullivan County, NY?

  1. Mike Guterman says:

    Liz,
    I have asked this question a numberof times but so far, no answers. Maybe you can get the answer.
    I had a few wells drilled last year with not so great results. The well driller suggested that he “Frack” the wells (for an extra charge, ofcourse)and that the fracking might increase the water flow. I was led to believe that this was a common technique used by most well drillers. It seemed to have worked and all the wells are producing adaquate amounts of water, all of which passed the BOH analysis.

    The question is what is the difference, if any, between this type of Fracking and that being done by the Gas companies?

    Thanks

  2. Mike Guterman says:

    Liz,
    I have asked this question a numberof times but so far, no answers. Maybe you can get the answer.
    I had a few wells drilled last year with not so great results. The well driller suggested that he “Frack” the wells (for an extra charge, ofcourse)and that the fracking might increase the water flow. I was led to believe that this was a common technique used by most well drillers. It seemed to have worked and all the wells are producing adaquate amounts of water, all of which passed the BOH analysis.

    The question is what is the difference, if any, between this type of Fracking and that being done by the Gas companies?

    Thanks

  3. Hi. Natural gas drilling hydraulic fracturing uses toxic chemicals during the process, occurs thousands of feet beneath the surface in the shale bed and the drilled hole can extend thousands of feet along the horizontal of the shale. Then the toxic fracking fluid is injected under enormous pressure and fractures are created in the shale. Some effort is made to recover the toxic fluid “injectant” but I’ve seen estimates of 30-80% residual left in the ground. What’s an average water well? 200-400 feet? When I’ve seen water wells drilled, the drill breaks through to an “underground pool” (for lack of technical language) that’s fed by underground streams, etc. and the aquifer. When the water well is tested for its re-fill rate, the rate can be improved as described in the quote below. Is that what you mean about the differences or am I in left field?

    I found the following quote at wellowner.org.(Is it possible the well driller was describing “jetting, surging or pumping” but adopted frack as a kind of slang?):

    “Once the well is completed, it is bailed or pumped to develop the well and determine the yield. Many areas need further work after drilling to remove fine material remaining from the drilling process so that water can more readily enter the well. Possible development methods include compressed air (blowing), bailing, jetting, surging, or pumping. The quantity of water (yield test) is usually measured during development. The minimum test time is one hour.”

Leave a Reply to Mike Guterman Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>