Oil and Gas Board discusses energy field in St. Clair County
ASHVILLE, Ala. - More than 250 people showed up for a special hearing held by the state Oil and Gas Board Friday to discuss the development of a big new energy field in St. Clair County.
The crowd packed into the Old Courthouse in Ashville heard plans proposed by natural gas field operator Dominion Resources to expand drilling in the Big Canoe Creek Field, 45 miles northeast of Birmingham, The Birmingham News reported.
The board approved the Virginia-based company’s expansion proposal. Dominion has obtained drilling rights to tens of thousands of acres in the county over the past two years.
“Some people are going around saying this is going to be their retirement,” said landowner Jackie Biddle of other landowners who have sold their mineral rights to Dominion. “To me, that seems a little pie in the sky.”
That there is natural gas near Ashville has been no secret to geologists for years. But Dominion’s increased interest recently has prompted speculation of mineral wealth. Dominion officials were greeted on Friday by people holding old mineral-rights contracts and property deeds in hopes that they would be included in the initial development area, the News reported.
In official business Friday, the four-member Oil and Gas Board, whose members are appointed by the governor, approved new drilling rules.
In its proposal, Dominion said that the current drilling rule mandating one well per 40 acres wouldn’t work since the area’s gas shales are tilted, meaning they run diagonally underground. As a result, crews have to stop exploration because the drill bits run sideways into new 40-acres parcels.
To solve the problem, the board voted to approve one well per 320 acres. Some landowners complained that the deal was unfair because a landowner with rich deposits could end up sharing royalties with a faraway neighbor whose property is not as profitable but happens to be well located.
“Landowners are going to receive reduced income if the units are too large,” Tom Fouts told the board from the audience.
Ashville’s 1,700 residents have become gas crazy, familiarizing themselves with obscure gas terminology. And their enthusiasm is not entirely unfounded.
The records Dominion submitted said the natural gas deposits run 9,000 feet thick in some places. That is far bigger than the 1,500-foot deposits in Texas’ Barnett Shale, the largest onshore gas field in the country. But Dominion doesn’t want to get peoples’ hopes up unnecessarily.
“It is way too early to make any distinction such as this,” said Bob Singleton, the area’s asset manager for Dominion. “It wouldn’t be responsible to make such a comparison at this time.”
Ashville Mayor Robert McKay told the News the gas exploration has already helped the local economy. There’s a new motel, restaurants are filled by the exploration crews and sales tax on fuel for the work trucks and pressurized gas for exploring new wells are bringing in revenue, he said.
AP