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May, 2002

Land access issues simmer in New Mexico

    Federal officials are still weighing development options 41/2 years after Harvey E. Yates Co. (HEYCO, Roswell, New Mexico) made the first commercial gas discovery in the Orogrande basin.  The Bennett Ranch Unit 1 Y well testing gas at the rate of 4.4 MMcfd from  about 4,500 ft.  The discovery well is on federal land in an area referred to as Otero Mesa, 40 miles east-northeast of El Paso, but gas deposits are believed to range over large areas in the Orogrande basin.  After HEYCO's discovery, other companies and individuals nominated almost 400 sq miles in New Mexico for federal leasing.  No more leases have been granted.  Orogrande potential is likened to the 19 tfc of gas equivalent that has been produced from the pre-Leonardian formations in Eddy, Lea, Chavez, and Roosevelt counties, an area of similar size and geology in the New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin.  

    BLM prepared a resource management Plan Amendment covering Sierra and Otero counties published in late 2000.  In it the BLM placed no surface occupancy restrictions on large areas, including most tracts adjacent to the discovery well.  At best this would sour project economics by requiring more expensive directional drilling.  HEYCO objected to that plan as too restrictive to even allow for drilling.  Recently the BLM proposed that no more than 5% of the surface of any lease be disturbed.  Non development interests, mainly the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance have argued that drilling and roads will spoil the view, ruin potential habitat for the endangered, Apomado falcon and damage the Chihuahua desert.  HEYCO argued that the country needs the gas and that the company is entitled to make a profit. On Feb. 28th, the BLM Resources Advisory  Council recommended that HEYCO and non-development interests to negotiate an acceptable alternative.  

Traffic Jams for Seismic Permits

In late February, an Interior Department appeals officer halted oil exploration near Arches National Park in Utah.  He said that the project could cause irreparable damage to the area.  Officials at the Bureau of Land Management said that they had considered the concerns of those who questioned the project before any activity began.  The BLM now plans to give additional information to the Interior's board of Land Appeals, justifying the project. Stuart Wright (a  speaker at RMAG's annual symposium in Denver) commented that any area which falls within a national park, national monument, wilderness area, wilderness study area or other less common areas of specific consideration, is automatically subject to regulatory review.  In all it takes about 90-120 days to obtain a federal permit for seismic studies on BLM land, and an additional 15-40 days for actual acquisition of data from a 20 square mile survey.  In general it takes about 137 days (4-5 months) to obtain federal permits.  And that is an optimistic estimate.  Another problem encountered with the project is that companies can only shoot seismic when the tundra is not frozen (August to September).  Other factors that may play in on the time restraints are Raptor nesting dates, sage grouse strutting time restrictions, Elk calving time restrictions, and hunting seasons.  Finally when towns, railroads, interstate highways, topographic barriers, and private land owners are considered, the process for acquiring seismic data on federal lands becomes increasingly more complicated.

• Summarized form an article written by Diane Freeman. "'Traffic' Jams Seismic Permits" AAPG Explorer.  pp. 6 and 9 April 2002