[CedarDave]

There are so many things crazy about this article I don't know where to start. The whole article is so full of contradictory statements it makes no sense at all. There is so much hand wringing going on even a knowledgeable observer can't make heads nor tail of it.

I spent this afternoon with my rancher friend and oil & gas expert in Cloudcroft. He said that the ranchers on Otero Mesa haven't yet figured out that if they cooperate with the company (assuming the company is straight up with them), they will come out ahead in the long run even if they don't have mineral rights. For example, he said that dry holes can be plugged back and perforated for fresh water wells, power for gas wells and equipment can power water wells and pumps to distribute water. Lease roads can make moving cattle around easier, and used drill pipe (norm free of course) can be used for fencing, corrals, or any other use needing a steel post. And he gave several examples from ranchers he knows in the Artesia area. He said he was glad he was now out of the oil and gas business -- too much of this nonsense raises his blood pressure!

[CedarDave]

For your PING lists!

[Between the Lines]

Threshold will drill with 100 percent air.

Another crazy statement in this article. If they are going to drill with 100% air, why was any water needed on the site? Usually there is some water needed with air drilling because it is actually done with a foam, although using 100% air is becoming more common. Except that they said that it was a "wildcat exploratory well." A wildcat well means they have no idea what they will run into down there and I have never heard of using 100% air on a wildcat well, only drilling with a mud slurry. This all sounds more dangerous than the "black" water everyone is so upset about.

This is a crazy article that is too hard to make any sense of.

[Dog Gone]

I think this is the kind of article you get when someone writes about something they know nothing about.