Gastem Set To Drill 3 Wells By Summer

4-16-10

Exploration To Become Exploitation


By JIM KEVLIN : MILFORD

Gastem, which is pioneering natural-gas drilling in Otsego County, will have three wells operating this summer, according company president Orville Cole.
With concerns about waste water created by the hydro-fracking process, Cole also disclosed the wells may be “fracked” with propane instead of water.
Addressing concerns at a forum organized in connection with the fifth annual Earth Festival Saturday, April 10,  he said nonetheless, “With the current regulations, there is no economical gas in Otsego County.”
Natural gas is priced at $3 per Mcf (1,000 cubic feet), Cole said, too low to make a profit.  Two years ago, when natural gas company’s “land-men” descended on Otsego County, the price was $10 per Mcf.
This was a rare occasion:  A natural-gas drilling executive speaking to a public forum locally, and both Cole and the audience made the most of it.
The natural-gas developer spoke matter-of-factly, showing a detailed Power Point that showed how a vertical bit drills through the earth, through the aquifer and into the Marcellus Shale Formation far beneath.
In addition to the Ross #1 well on Crumhorn Mountain and a second one in Cherry Valley’s Irish Hollow, Cole said the third well will depend on state Department of Environmental Conservation approval.
Gastem is drilling for Covalent Energy of Chesapeake, Va., which is seeking permits on five additional wells in the towns of Cherry Valley and Springfield.
Until the DEC approves horizontal hydro-fracking – the method most under attack by gas-drilling opponents – fracking can only be done off the end of vertical shafts, a much more limited – and, in Cole estimation, unprofitable – method of freeing gas from the Marcellus Shale Formation.
Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to study the whole issue of environmental damage from hydro-fracking, it may be three years before DEC regulations will be approved.
While the focus locally has been on hydro-fracking, raising issues of proper storage and processing of the waste water, Cole said propane fracking allows a developer to reclaim 100 percent of the propane, making it more economical, the Montreal-based developer said.
Other speakers were Erik Miller, executive director, Otsego County Conservation Association; Lou Allstadt, Cooperstown, retired Mobil executive, and Mary Jo Long, a lawyer and Afton Town Board member.