Does anyone know why there are so few permits to drill being filed in Glasscock county. 5 in Nov, 2 in Dec. and 7 in January…there used to be 14 filed in one day, not three months. Is it the price of oil?, seems like there is much concern over pleasing the public, the president, the green peace bunny huggers, the stakeholders, investors etc. but no one has asked the owners. Guess we don’t count.
I was just wondering if our oil companies have gotten out of the drilling for oil business and gone into the financial management business or if they are all driving Tesla’s and investing in wind farms, or maybe they have changed careers and gotten into real estate. Whatever they are doing they don’t seem to be filing permits to drill new wells. I will be the first to admit I am not an expert, but I thought if you quit drilling you were done.
Does anyone else wonder if the ability to keep a lease could be altered to include a new well drilled in the last 3-6 months instead of keeping a lease through production. XTO has the rights on one or our leases that they haven’t drilled any new wells on since the early 80’s. But they are keeping it through production. If anyone has any answers or suggestions, I would appreciate it. thanks.
I cannot answer particularly for Glasscock, but the general answer is location, location, location and economics. The operators will drill where they are pretty certain that they will make a profit. Depends upon rigs availability, crews availability, reservoir quality compared to their total portfolio, price of oil and gas, takeaway capacity, availability of supplies such as pipe and chemicals, etc. The operators go where the money will be.
Your original lease wording determines the terms for how long a lease is in effect. Yes, depending upon the wording, a lease can hold your minerals for decades by being in production. I have one that is a hundred years old. Many of us later generations are held by those old leases. They are a solid legal document. They can drill more wells, but they do not have to unless you have a “continuous drilling” clause.
Thanks, My question was specific for Glasscock county about the lack of permits. Really odd, especially with price where it is. Do owners (I am an NPRO)have any recourse about lease agreement language? Like adding a continuous drilling clause, or every 3 or 5 years. Or once in a blue moon😊 Why would a company like XTO keep a lease with a piddley stripper well, with no new drills for 40 years & not sell to a “hungrier” oil company that would drill? Same with OXY.
Permits are filed where the operators think it makes the most sense for them given their company goals.
You do not have recourse on old lease language as long as the wells are producing by the terms of the lease. If the continuous drilling clause was not in the original lease, then you cannot put it in later.
Who knows what is in the mind of XTO or OXY. They may just be happy with holding onto the acreage. Or they may know that the current well is all the reservoir can handle and it is not worth drilling any more.
Thanks Ms. Barnes, I do appreciate the feedback. I’m sure it’s the solid industry answer, but I’m looking for something much more specific. I have been watching Glasscock county permits almost every day since Aug 2012. Never have I seen such a lull, not just from the companies on our leases but a county wide lull in permits & new drilling activity. Does anyone know what is going on? Are we waiting on the election? Are all the sweet spots taken? Please challenge me when I say it appears companies have gotten out of the drilling business & are now into financial management. I’m just trying to understand how you can be an oil company & not drill fresh wells? Maybe everyone’s moved out of Glasscock?
You made me curious. Take into account that if you were watching counts since 2012, the drilling in the county has moved from vertical wells to one section horizontal wells to two section to three section horizontal wells. The permit count in Glasscock is “down”, but the amount of sections covered and the infill wells is quite impressive. Industry is live and well in the county. Well counts are not as useful as they used to be because the raw count is not as useful anymore. As of today, there are 469 active permits in Glasscock. Most of them are two-three section horizontal wells, so that explains the drop off in numbers to me. That explains 1/2 to 2/3 of a drop in count.
Now when the permits will be drilled is a different story. I see two active rigs in Glasscock and about 20 in Midland county to the west. Which operators have rigs and frac crews and where they deploy them is another piece of the puzzle.
Here is just a sample of part of the Glasscock county to show the infill coverage of some areas and how much distance some of those wells horizontal wells cover.
That is impressive! Almost unbelievable, makes you wonder if there’s anyplace left to drill, however i am hearing technology is changing almost by the week. thanks for your post & your time.
Just wanted to let you know what you probably already know, but permit # 30 in Glasscock county for the month of March was filed today, March 14……still half a month to go………now, that’s more like it😊……players are Crownquest, Vital, Diamondback, and XTO. Guess there is still plenty room for more!
