An area east of Bayfield could be a testing ground for an innovative technology developed by BP American Production Company that holds the possibility of opening previously inaccessible areas to oil and gas development.
“We’re taking a risk,” Bob Moore, an engineer for BP, told La Plata County Commissioners on Tuesday. “But if we’re successful here, that opens up the opportunity for doing similar things in other areas with difficult surface access.”
According to Moore, BP has proposed to drill 12 new horizontal wells on eight existing well pads on U.S. Forest Service land near Saul’s Creek, just west of the HD Mountains off County Roads 526 and 527.
By drilling horizontally as opposed to vertically, Moore said the wells can reach coalbed methane reserves beneath inaccessible terrain, without the need for new well pads or roads.
But the new technology comes into play when dealing with groundwater issues, he said.
Oil and gas companies extracting coalbed methane typically drill vertically, which requires them to pump water trapped in underground formations to the surface, allowing gas to release from coal seams. The by-product is known as “produced water.”
Because of challenges in topography with the HD Mountains, BP plans to drill a separate horizontal well to capture the produced water, which would be pumped vertically into a pipeline that transports it to a disposal facility.
Moore expects production – which now stands at about 3 million cubic feet a day from the eight existing wells – to possibly increase to more than 20 million cubic feet a day with the 12 new horizontal wells.
Moore said if the project is approved, BP should know if the new drilling method is successful – financially speaking – a couple months after operations have commenced.
And if it is, the process could be the beginning of a new template in oil and gas drilling.
“If this is successful, there’s more areas that could be developed … and a significant amount of gas that could be recovered,” James Hawkins, a commissioner with Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said at the board’s January meeting.
“I just want to congratulate these guys for coming up with an innovative approach to develop the forested, mountainous area over there that for decades now has been a problem of how would you ever develop that area.”
La Plata County Commissioners on Tuesday raised several concerns about the impact on the residents and roads along county roads 526 and 527, which would be the main points of access to the well pads.
Kate Feir, project engineer for BP, said for most of the project, there could be five to 15 trucks in operation. On more active days, that number could reach 20 to 25 vehicles.
Because of seasonal wildlife closures, activity would be limited. In the project’s first year, BP plans to start in June and end in November. In 2018, operations would last from May to August.
Matt Janoviak, a Columbine District Ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, said the project is not subject to an environmental analysis because of a 2014 study that took into account oil and gas development in the area.
The Forest Service, however, will begin a 30-day scoping process later this week, which will alert residents in the area and provide the opportunity for public comment.
“Our view is that input and concerns always make for a better project,” Janoviak said. “This is exciting stuff for us. It really reduces the amount of footprint on the National Forest … and takes away the need for additional roads and well pads.”
Oil and gas development in the HD Mountains – a relatively untouched stretch of terrain east of Bayfield known for its old growth forests, cultural resources and wildlife habitat – has been a point of contention for years.
According to La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt, in the early 1990s, Amaco – now BP – proposed drilling hundreds of wells with little notification to residents in the HDs.
But when residents protested, it was discovered the project required an environmental impact statement, which found the number of wells that could be drilled was significantly lower, Lachelt said.
“That was really La Plata County’s first experience with oil and gas drilling and fracking on our forests,” she said. “We just wanted to make sure … that development was going to proceed in a responsible manner.”
BP’s Feir said the horizontal drilling project with little surface disturbance would accomplish the same amount of production as a 30-acre infill drilling using vertical wells.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
