When oil's gone, a mess remains

Living in a county that currently has no active gas wells, I see citizens (myself included), spending a great deal of time talking about the dangers posed by the drilling process. Since we don't have old abandoned wells and waste pits in our back yards, most of us don't think beyond the initial phases of drilling development. It is important to remember that natural gas wells do not produce forever. At some point, the developer will move on and probably leave a very big mess if there are not adequate regulations and enforcement in place.

When oil's gone, a mess remains
By JOE CARROLL Bloomberg News
Published: Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.

Bo Vavrusa was heaping dirt into the path of a wildfire on a Texas ranch in October 2007 when his tractor rammed an Exxon Mobil Corp. natural-gas pipe hidden in a thicket. Flames engulfed the tractor, burning his face, arms and hands as he fled.

"This isn't something the states are proud to advertise. It's the ugly side of the oil and gas business."– Philip Dellinger, Environmental Protection Agency

"I thought I was fixing to die," said Vavrusa, 28, who was earning $10 an hour to groom the ranch for quail and dove hunters.

Exxon, the biggest U.S. oil producer, has neglected this stretch of Texas since its oil fields began drying up in the 1970s, said Jerry Patterson, the state's General Land Office Commissioner. Now Patterson and other state officials are urging Texas lawmakers to follow the examples of California and Pennsylvania in cracking down on oilfield practices that have left leaking pipelines, wells and storage tanks.

Oozing chemical pits and Vavrusa's scarred skin are emblematic of a legacy Exxon has sought to keep buried in court, even as it gears up for a return to active exploration within miles of the ranch through its pending $29.3 billion acquisition of Fort Worth, Texas-based XTO Energy Inc.

Exxon's renewed focus on North America follows nationalist energy policies in Venezuela and Russia that reduced opportunities to profit abroad. It coincides with fresh scrutiny in the United States that is leading Congress to examine whether stricter drilling regulations are needed.

"This isn't something the states are proud to advertise," said Philip Dellinger, chief of the groundwater section in the Austin, Texas, office of the Environmental Protection Agency. "It's the ugly side of the oil and gas business." More>>>

Exxon, Shell Sign Final Deal for Iraq's West Qurna Oil Field

Jan 25th, 2010 by John Donovan.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
JANUARY 25, 2010

By Hassan Hafidh

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

A consortium made up of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) finalized a deal in Baghdad Monday to develop the West Qurna phase 1 oil field in southern Iraq, Iraqi oil officials said.

It represents the first time a U.S.-led group has been allowed into Iraq’s oil patch since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Exxon and Shell won the right to develop the field following the country’s first postwar licensing auction held last year. The license to develop the field wasn’t initially awarded in the auction in June, but a deal was reached following subsequent negotiations. More>>>

ExxonMobil planning $41 billion purchase of XTO Energy

Okay, so maybe I am getting a little carried away here, but this article brings the Exxon purchase of XTO closer to home, so I thought it was worth another post. This article is definitely pro-drilling, but it shows how big this company really is and how much they own here in New Mexico. This purchase makes for an absolutely enormous company with vast holdings throughout both the Marcellus and Barnett Shale (not sure how much they own in the Barnett Shale, but they are listed as a developer there).

ExxonMobil planning $41 billion purchase of XTO EnergyStaff Writer
Posted: 12/21/2009 12:00:00 AM MST


By Debra Mayeux

FCBJ editor


IRVING, Texas XTO Energy, with holdings in the San Juan Basin, announced Dec. 14, that it will be purchased by ExxonMobil Corporation in an all-stock transaction valued at $41 billion.

The sale, which is subject to XTO shareholders approval, includes XTO's debt of approximately $10 billion. The sale is not expected to be complete until the second quarter of 2010, because of the need for regulatory approval.

The agreement "brings together two organizations with highly complimentary skills and capabilities," ExxonMobil Corporation's CEO Rex Tillerson said in a Dec. 14 conference call. "XTO is a leading U.S. unconventional natural gas and oil producer with an outstanding resource base, strong operational expertise and highly skilled employees."

Those 3,000 company-wide employees, many of which live and work in the Four Corners region at XTO's holdings in the Rocky Mountains the San Juan and Raton Basins, are important to the new partnering company, Tillerson said. More>>>

Exxon Deal May Be Green Light For Shale

Another interesting post up today, this one from Common Ground United
As the companies grow, the rights of landowners (especially those who do not own their mineral rights) shrink.

Exxon Deal May Be Green Light for Shale
"Others may have to follow its $30 billion purchase of XTO, a company that specializes in fracturing rock with water and sand to make natural gas flow"
By Jessica Resnick-Ault

"(Bloomberg) — Exxon Mobil's (XOM) $30 billion purchase of XTO Energy (XTO), the largest U.S. petroleum takeover since 2006, may signal a wave of acquisitions as major producers seek to tap growing gas and oil output from shale formations. More>>>