By Alan Friedman – A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – An oilfield of 1000 wells begins with a single well
SandRidge’s projected well is sited on two acres of land owned by a subsidiary of AMREP. The Permit issued by the State Oil Conservation Division allows for 40 acre spacing. No producing oil and gas field ever has a single well.
In 2014, AMREP leased 55,000 acres of property it controls, to Thrust Energy and Cebolla Roja for the purpose of exploring for, developing, producing and marketing oil and gas. At 40 acre spacing, this could allow up to 1375 wells.
SandRidge’s spokesman mentioned water use for this well at about 800,000 gal. The truth is that the amount of water used will depend on the rock formation to be fracked. Oil and gas production by fracking uses an average of 3.6 million gal for a single well.
In 2014, Bernalillo used 1229 acre feet of water. Rio Rancho used 12,000 acre feet of water. 1375 fracking wells would use more than 15,000 acre feet of water. Where will this water come from?
This represents only the water use aspect of Oil and Gas production on this 55,000 acres. Sandoval County is not prepared for this aspect or many other aspects of this potentially huge project.
Currently, zoning is the only mechanism Sandoval County has to regulate oil and gas production and it’s impact on the County and it’s Residents. This SandRidge zoning change request should be put on hold, and we should place a moratorium on oil and gas drilling and production until the county passes a comprehensive Oil and Gas Ordinance.