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JANUARY 2017 ENERGY PIPELINE 3
Features
16
10
NEW YEAR HOME
QUIET FLEET
New Year brings new home for Fort Lupton family in Anadarko Habitat home-build.
Quiet Fleet set to cut the noise at drilling sites in DJ Basin.
By Nikki Work
By Matthew Van Deventer
8 MEXICAN IMPORTS
Increased Mexican gas imports don’t necessarily mean a boon to Colorado.
ON THE COVER Design by
By Matthew Van Deventer
Joshua Aho
11
EARTHQUAKE
Third scalable earthquakes in decades shakes Greeley in same areas as previous quakes. By Sharon Dunn
13
ENERGY COMMITTEE
State Senate Republicans form select committee to talk “facts” on energy policy. By Associated Press
14
WELD OIL & GAS RULES
Weld County commissioners adopt new oil, gas rules to streamline well-siting process. By Catherine Sweeney
4 ENERGY PIPELINE JANUARY 2017
In Every Issue 19
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Tech Talk
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ENERGY is your
BUSINESS PUBLISHER Bryce Jacobson EDITOR Randy Bangert GENERAL MANAGER Bart Smith BUSINESS MANAGER Doug Binder MANAGING EDITOR Sharon Dunn CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Gary Beers Bruce Wells Nikki Work Matthew Van Deventer Catherine Sweeney
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ENERGY PIPELINE MAGAZINE 501 8th Ave. P.O. Box 1690 Greeley, CO 80632 For all editorial, advertising, subscription and circulation inquiries, call (970) 352-0211. Send editorial-related comments and story ideas to: editor@energypipeline.com For advertising inquiries, contact: bjacobson@energypipeline.com
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JANUARY 2017 ENERGY PIPELINE 7
MEXICAN IMPORTS Increased Mexican gas imports don’t necessarily mean a boon to Colorado
BY MATTHEW VAN DEVENTER • FOR ENERGY PIPELINE
As Mexico rushes to increase the number of pipelines fueling an upward spiral of natural gas imports from the United States, it likely won’t help increase Colorado’s natural gas production. According to a U.S. Energy Information Administration report, almost all of the United States’ 2016 growth in natural gas exports is attributed Mexican demand; more than half of all U.S. exports have gone to Mexico since April 2015. In 2016, an average of 3.6 billion cubic feet per day was pumped into Mexico with a spike in August at 4.2 Bcf/d (a 2013 market projection did not anticipate those kind of levels until 2018). This year’s average is 25 percent higher than a year ago and 85 percent higher than the 2011-15 average level, according to the EIA. There’s more good news for the U.S. Last year the Mexico energy ministry announced a five-year plan that would expand Mexico’s natural gas pipeline infrastructure to meet increasing demand in the country through more U.S. imports. So far it has approved seven of 12 major pipeline projects. “It’s [from] incredible reserves, incredible development — efficiencies have really 8 ENERGY PIPELINE JANUARY 2017
driven the cost curve for natural gas supply down and a lot of the growth has really been fueled by the Marcellus in the northeast,” said Adam Bedard, CEO of ARB Midstream,
U.S. natural gas exports (2009-16) billion cubic feet per day 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
a company that organizes analytics-drive pipeline and storage projects. The Marcellus Formation — its full potential discovered around 2008 — has shifted the flow of natural gas in America significantly, Bedard said. Before then, the country’s northeast region was the hot spot to send natural gas, hence the Rockies Express Pipeline, which stretches between Colorado
and Ohio. New gas production from the Marcellus pushed back Canadian gas as well as Rockies and Texas gas, a lot of which was supplying the area. Now those regional producers are looking for new markets. Texas producers are definitely on the short-list for supplying neighboring Mexico with natural gas. However, that may not be the case for Colorado. Bedard said because Colorado is an inland source it requires a lot more transportation; piping it to the Gulf and then on to Mexico isn’t always the first option. “If Mexico’s demand picks up significantly it could pull gas from the mid-[continental] and other regions and Colorado gas could shove into those markets, but generally Colorado’s gas is disadvantaged because it’s so far from the end markets,” Bedard said. ARB Midstream is only about two years old and is tracking the Mexico market, but aside from possibly adding liquid gases or asphalt, Bedard said he won’t be looking to make any moves on that front. Bud Weinstein, associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, sees huge
promise in the global Liquefied Natural Gas market — especially with the U.S. being a major player. However, the lack of terminals and general infrastructure as well as the lengthy permitting process the U.S. is falling short when it comes to exporting LNG — America is the No. 1 gas producer in the world, but it just can’t get it to market. “We really need to move on expediting the permitting process for LNG facilities because the global demand is increasing.” Weinstein said. “We may not have the cheapest gas in the world, but we’re certainly competitive even when you factor in the liquidation and transportation costs. So there’s tremendous potential between Europe, Latin America, and Asia for U.S. gas.” Exports also control demand, which affects the price and continues to enable operators to drill, produce, market, and make money on gas. Between the shale revolution over the past decade as well as more efficiencies in gas gathering, producers are able to make a profit even at price levels in the $3 per million thermal units range. Overall, Weinstein has a very positive outlook on America’s long-term gas market. An increase in exports may have an indirect effect on Colorado’s gas markets, however. Producers that can get their product to the coasts or borders easier means there may be more markets for Colorado gas inland, explained Maria Sanchez, manager of energy analysis at Drilling Info, an oil and gas data provider that recently acquired Ponderosa Energy in Denver.
Sanchez said the Mexican government has made steps to open production within the country by requesting bids, but it hasn’t been very successful, which means the country will continue to need U.S. gas. “We don’t see it in the next five years,” said Sanchez regarding Mexico’s inability to produce and market its own natural gas. Texas will most likely be the one to provide them with gas. Colorado, on the other hand, could continue to supply California, perhaps one of the state’s best markets today. The Pacific Northwest also is an option for Colorado gas, but Canadian prices are lower. Another hurdle is the lack of infrastructure. Gas flowing from Colorado to California is at capacity, according to Sanchez, who cited the Kern River Pipeline which flows from southwest Wyoming to Bakersfield, Calif., and pipes less than 2 Bcf/d. Sanchez predicts 2017 will see U.S. gas production averaging a steady 3.9-4 Bcf/d and increasing to 6 Bcf/d by 2020. She doesn’t see the Colorado market, however, growing significantly because of the cost of production. However, the big players won’t be losing any ground and may even be able to find some growth in domestic markets. “So I think at the end of the day,” Sanchez said, “they will indirectly benefit from it, but it doesn’t mean gas form Colorado is going to move to Mexico.”
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QUIET FLEET Quiet Fleet set to cut the noise at drilling sites in DJ Basin
BY MATTHEW VAN DEVENTER • FOR ENERGY PIPELINE Liberty Oil Field Services’ new Quiet Fleet is fitted with special noise reduction equipment to reduce the annoyance of sounds to neighbors and workers.
Liberty Oilfield Service’s latest fleet of hydraulic fracturing equipment consists of the usual 15 frac pumps. But this fleet is different — by a longshot. Stand in the middle of the Quiet Fleet and you may not know that each one of the 2,250 horsepower pumps is operating at full capacity or you may mistake them for the diesel engines carting them around. It’s just one of several benefits that came out of the new fleet that has its pumps specially encased in sound reduction technology. “I call it the shock that wasn’t heard around the world,” says Extraction Oil and Gas asset planner Boyd McMaster, a 20-year veteran of the oil and gas industry. “At 100 percent deployment, the sound of your voice is the loudest source that can be monitored.” Try three times less noise on a typical fracking job. Liberty Announced the Quiet Fleet in August, and has already deployed it for Extraction at a site in Windsor. It will be used in Greeley at a site that has been controversial to neighbors. Blane Thingelstad, a project manager with Extraction, said the Quiet Fleet might as well be out of a science fiction novel. “I give a lot of credit to Liberty. They work for NASA or something,” Thingelstad said of the innovations from Liberty. “They put a lot of time and effort and built that fleet for Extraction. “Now, it’s a bit of a unicorn,” Thingelstad said. “If something happens, it’s the flagship. We’ve got it booked for almost all of next.” A traditional frac fleet is noisy and produces about 80-90 decibels, similar to standing three feet from a gas lawnmower. Workers can barely have conversations inside the site of a fracking operation and neighbors can hear the generators despite a sound wall encasing the whole site. On a decibel meter, the fleet would just show a continuous stream of noise. McMaster said with the Quiet Fleet, it’s your own voice that causes increased readings on a meter. In other words, a worker’s voice would be the loudest sound to register when standing near the new equipment.. When McMaster showed up on site recently, the only reason he knew the fleet was running was because of the activity going on around 10 ENERGY PIPELINE JANUARY 2017
it, not the noise. Even neighbors living near a recent site the fleet was fracking were asking when completion operations would begin — the crews had started days earlier. Outside the walls, traditional frac fleets usually produce about 65 decibels. Now it’s 60 decibels or less. Extraction Oil and Gas operates in challenging areas that are often near high populations where completion operations can be very disruptive. Matt Owens, CEO of Extraction Oil and Gas, used the company’s close relationship with Liberty to ask them to develop a fleet that was not so intrusive. Liberty CEO Chris Wright commented in an email: “A large part of our investment is in the development of technology that addresses the three biggest impacts on local communities: noise, dust, and truck traffic, and we are making big progress in all three areas. The Quiet Fleet is the culmination of two years of Liberty engineering effort.” Originally the simple hope of the Quiet Fleet was to make fracking quieter. “The project started way back two years ago with an idea that was as basic as trying to put a better muffler on the engine,” says Liberty president, Ron Gusek. As it turned out, it wasn’t so easy. It required a holistic re-design that addressed about a half-dozen issues in the traditional frac. Gusek said he couldn’t go into too much detail, as other companies are already attempting to develop similar fleets. McMaster says the generators are encased and divert noise upward as well as lower emissions. A three-stage fire suppression system was also included in the redesign, which Gusek calls an “unanticipated benefit.” Extraction has the first fleet, but Liberty is expecting to have a second one rolled out in January and then a third at the end of the quarter. Gusek anticipates they will learn from each fleet and continue to improve them. Gusek says the Front Range is a “challenging area to operate in,” and proves to be increasingly challenging as more areas are developed. “In the interest of being good neighbors,” we just wanted to find a way to be less intrusive,” Gusek said. “That was the start of the whole project.”
EARTHQUAKE Oil, gas regulators feel better about control of injection wells in northern Colorado to prevent earthquakes
BY SHARON DUNN • SDUNN@ENERGYPIPELINE.COM
An injection well believed to be at the epicenter of Greeley’s three sizable
earthquakes in the past two years is no longer operating, and state regulators have since placed volume limits on all such wells in Colorado. Regulators say protocols to require all commercial operators to monitor their own seismic activity — established after two quakes in 2014 rattled the area — are already working, and the Nov. 6 quake in northeast Greeley is proof of that. “What you see in this Greeley event was a great example of how the system works,” Stuart Ellsworth, engineering manager for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said Tuesday. “I believe that we were able to monitor it and respond before we hit a big one.” After the 2014 quakes linked to one injection well in northeast Greeley, the state ordered all operators of commercial injection wells to monitor for seismic activity at their injection well sites. Injection wells take in wastewater from the
oil and gas drilling process, and they have been linked to an increasing amount of earthquake activity at drilling fields across the country. But a third quake hit Nov. 6, stemming from the same area as those two years earlier. The state has since capped the amount of wastewater such injection wells can take in a given day at 10,000 barrels — a number the wells in question have rarely met — to prevent any further problems. Greeley’s first quake, a 3.4 magnitude, came May 31, 2014. That was followed by a 2.6 magnitude quake June 23, 2014. The November quake came in at 3.1 magnitude. Since Nov. 6, all has been quiet. At least there have been no magnitude tremors above a 2.5 (the COGCC and US Geologic Survey’s barometer) in northern Colorado. “The behavior of the well and the seismicity thus far has been exactly what we would have expected and intended,” said Matt Lepore, director of the COGCC. Added Ellsworth: “Part of our protocols
were to have them give us an activity report, and as far as we can tell (seismicity) is decreasing.” Regulators pinpointed the first two quakes to an injection well in northeast Greeley, called NGLC4, near the GreeleyWeld County Airport. The well is operated by NGL Resources in Denver. But since the first quake, regulators have pointed to two additional wells as potentially playing a role in the Nov. 6 event. One injection well became operational in 2015, within a mile of the epicenter. The third well, about 5 miles south of the first two wells, also was suspected in last month’s quake. Almost immediately following the first quake, the state shut in the NGL injection well, requiring the company to cement 400-500 feet from the bottom of the well, before it allowed water intake again at slowly increasing levels. The second well — known as EWS2 and owned by Expedition Water Solutions Colorado — and the third well — Kersey No. 1, owned by Complete Energy Service JANUARY 2017 ENERGY PIPELINE 11
— were shut in after Nov. 6. The bottoms were cemented to prevent water from leaking into formations, potentially causing further movement in the earth. Both have since restarted operations. The NGL well has remained shut in. Limiting injection to 10,000 barrels per day is the new cap throughout Colorado. But that amount is apparently rare, according to state numbers. Prior to the 2014 quake, the NGLC4 at its peak in October 2013 took in 11,722 barrels of water per day on average; in September (the latest information available), it was down to 5,443, according to COGCC numbers. In June, the EWS well took in 10,391 barrels of water per day — its peak. In November, it was down to 5,518 per day on average. The Kersey No. 1 well hit a peak in March 2014 at 7,520 barrels of water per day on average. In October, the last number available, it was taking an average of 1,059 per day. Ellsworth said the 10,000 cap was arrived at by studying all injection well
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patterns in Colorado, in addition to some industry studies out of the University of Texas and Stanford. NGLC4 is no longer taking in any injections. Doug White, vice president of operations for NGL, did not answer questions about the well, stating he was on vacation before hanging up his phone. Another NGL executive, Jim Winter, stated in a voicemail he was too far removed from operations to speak to the matter. “They haven’t done it because we asked them to,” Ellsworth explained of the reason for the well shut-in. “That was their choice.” Ellsworth said regulators investigated NGL after the quakes in 2014 on suspicion of injecting water at a higher rate than the well was permitted for, but NGL was not in violation. Because quakes are not common in Greeley, they naturally caused fears among residents that the local oil and gas field may become a mini-Oklahoma, the site of hundreds of earthquakes in recent years, which had been growing in frequency and magnitude. The very day of the Nov. 6
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quake, Oklahoma recorded a 5.1 quake. Lepore and Ellsworth said that scenario is likely never going to happen in Colorado, which has 350 disposal wells. Oklahoma has 3,500, and roughly 700 in the area where that state’s earthquakes are centered. This past year, the COGCC adopted the stoplight system, in which underground injection wells receive a green light if the seismic activity is a magnitude 1 to 2 on the Richter Scale, which means it can’t be felt above the surface. If operators find they’re measuring magnitudes of 2, 3 or higher, operations must be modified. If seismicity reaches 5 or above, operators are required to suspend operations. “The seismic events of note (in Colorado) … the agency has responded and adopted this protocol,” Lepore said. “It’s the same one in place in Oklahoma, based on a lot of learning that happened there.”
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ENERGY COMMITTEE State Senate Republicans form select committee to talk “facts” on energy policy BY ASSOCIATED PRESS • FOR ENERGY PIPELINE
Colorado Senate Republicans are forming a select legislative committee to discuss energy and environmental issues indepth with the goal of educating the public and fellow legislators. “It’s a big deal, because it’s some place to gather that information,” said Sen. Ray Scott, a Republican from Grand Junction, who will lead the panel. “If you think about it, there’s not a lot of people in that building who really understand the energy issues. They’re not in the energy industry. We all develop an opinion based on these different groups that come screaming to the Capitol saying the sky is falling. Let’s spend some time looking at the data, looking at the facts.” Scott first spoke of the committee at an American Petroleum Industry lunch in Denver Tuesday. Senate President-designee Kevin Grantham, a Republican from Canon City, asked for the panel, which could hold public discussions on such issues as fracking, public lands, relations with the Trump administration or the governor’s clear-air proposals. Scott is joined on the committee by Sens. John Cooke of Weld County and Kevin Priola of Adams County, the neighboring counties on the forefront of Colorado’s controversy on regulating oil and gas production near
communities. Meanwhile, when Senate Democrats elected leaders after the election this month, they named Matt Jones of Louisville as their point man on issues related to renewable energy, conservation and climate change. Senate Democratic leader Lucia Guzman of Denver said Tuesday she needs to hear more about the Republican committee’s work before supporting or condemning it. The Democrats’ position is clear, she said. “One of our main agenda items for the coming year is movement toward the new economy with renewable energy, working on climate change and all that,” Guzman said. “I’m not sure what the Republicans have in mind when they’re setting up this committee.” She said more partisan hearings won’t be productive. If Republicans pass legislation in the Senate, where they have a majority, they still must broker a compromise with the Democratic majority in the House. “We know what the majority of people in Colorado want,” Guzman said. “They want to keep their public lands, they want to have clean air and most people in Colorado support action toward diminishing climate change.” If the new GOP committee recommends legislation it would be directed through
normal channels, first to the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee, chaired by Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling. “There’s plenty of work to keep both committee’s extremely busy, given the intense public interest these issues generate and the changing regulatory landscape we’re likely to see in the future,” Grantham said in a statement. “The select committee will augment and enhance our ability to look at these issues in a broader way, and at greater depth. It’s also a reflection of the primary importance Senate Republicans place on these issues, which hold the key to Colorado’s economic and environmental well-being.” Cooke said it is important to support Colorado’s energy industry, one of the state’s top economic drivers, while protecting “natural places that make Colorado special.” “Reliable and affordable energy are too important to Colorado’s energy consumers and business climate to not keep every option on the table, including coal, oil and gas, renewables and maybe even nuclear,” he said. “It’s time we put Colorado energy consumers first again, by adopting energy policies guided by practical reality, not extreme ideology.”
JANUARY 2017 ENERGY PIPELINE 13
WELD OIL & GAS RULES Weld County commissioners adopt new oil, gas rules to streamline well-siting process BY CATHERINE SWEENEY • FOR ENERGY PIPELINE
Weld County officials finalized new oil and gas rules in December, in part, to push back against state regulators, but one of the state agency’s veterans says the rules aren’t too shabby. Thom Kerr spent 23 years at the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission overseeing the industry as it began to boom in Weld. “I’d say that it seems like they’ve reached a middle ground that is good for the residents and good for the industry,” he said. Last year, state regulators established some new rules for the industry, and the Board of Weld County Commissioners all but brought their pitchforks to the following meetings. They spent the next 11 months establishing their own rules. They aimed to take back authority and protect landowners. Historically, oil and gas companies operating in Weld often had to ask for a permit only from the state. Unless the development was slated for one of the county’s few residential areas, the companies were entitled to build on any property they owned without going through a county application process. In December, leaders pitched having each oil and gas company go through one of 14 ENERGY PIPELINE JANUARY 2017
the most extensive application processes — which includes two public hearings — before drilling. Come February, drillers won’t have to go through hearings even if they’re building next to a school or neighborhood, but they will have to ask for a permit from the county. Leaders dubbed it the Weld Oil and Gas Location Assessment. The county’s planning department will go through the application and decide whether drilling can move forward. Kerr said getting rid of the requirement for companies to go through two hearings was a good move. “The (state) permit process is burdensome already,” he said. “If you’re drilling a lot of wells, that means there’s a lot of hearings. I know that in some cases, it just takes a long time to get that (hearing) even docketed.” It would be time-consuming and expensive for both the county and the operators, Kerr said. Oil and gas companies throughout Weld County have requested more than 1,300 new permits so far in 2016, according to state regulators’ figures. Although county commissioners will sometimes hold land-use hearings on Mondays, they usually hold them
on Wednesdays. So had they gone through with requiring more hearings, they likely would have to spread more than 1,000 extra cases over about 50 board meetings next year. Kerr also supported commissioners’ decision to require companies to try to get landowners on board early in the permitting process. “I think that the (surface) owners do have a lot of rights that they should be made aware of by the industry,” he said. Back in the ’80s and ’90s, operators weren’t always good at trying to communicate. Sometimes landowners wouldn’t know a well site was going in their backyard until they saw a flag sticking out of the ground, he said. That has improved, but it doesn’t mean the conversations always go swimmingly. Sometimes, landowners are the ones acting badly, he said. Even if they get notified early, they’ll put off talks. “Then they want to take it aggressively in a different way when the timing becomes critical,” he said. The rules require the companies to prove they’ve tried to engage with landowners. Getting the two sides to talk early in the permitting process can save time and headaches for both sides, Kerr said.
The companies will have to apply for the county’s permit before they apply for the state’s, said Weld County Planning Director Tom Parko. The two applications will have similar questions, he said, so companies won’t have to spend any extra money or time trying to answer questions for Weld. “Think of it as a really robust notice process,” he said. The company will have to notify landowners holding property within 1,000 feet of the site with certified mail as well as posting two signs about the intent to drill on the property. Then, the company will go through a checklist with the county’s oil and gas liaison to explain how company officials want to address some land-use issues such as traffic problems, light pollution or dust. If the neighbors and landowner are OK with the plan, the company gets to build. If the neighbors or the landowner complains, the liaison will try to get the two sides to settle on a solution in meetings, but if that doesn’t pan out, and the planning department finds the complaints valid, the case will go before the county commissioners. Then the
commissioners would decide if it’s a go. The county permit also gives the county some teeth when dealing with bad operators, Parko said. Today, if a neighbor complains about lighting violations, for example, someone in the planning department will try to talk to the company and get it into compliance. If the company refuses, the state has to get involved. With this new permit process, county officials can threaten to take the permit away. Although a COGCC veteran supports the new rules, current officials aren’t so certain. The state agency’s leaders declined an interview because they didn’t feel they’d had enough time to review the regulations, they did release a statement via email. “Regulation of location and well construction will continue to be managed by COGCC in accordance with the rules and process that are part of that,” it read. “Weld County’s approach doesn’t really change that.” Building the county’s plan took about a year. Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, who was the chairwoman throughout 2015, said that’s typical, and how regulations end up looking so different.
“We took a first stab at it (last year) … knowing that we were going to have stakeholder meetings and discussions,” she said. “I would say there are some differences, but I think that the goal and the intent that we had a year ago, that we still met that with the rules we have now,” said. “I know that people think there were a lot of wholesale changes. I don’t believe there was.
WHAT’S NEXT Weld County officials plan to roll out the new regulations on oil and gas drilling in February. They also want to have a check-in meeting with landowners and operators sometime during summer 2017 to see how they’re working.
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GREELEY - 970 888 3390 JANUARY 2017 ENERGY PIPELINE 15
Adrianna Reyes, 10, beams from inside her new home in Hudson, built by the Greeley Habitat for Humanity and volunteers from Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
NEW YEAR HOME New Year brings new home for Fort Lupton family in Anadarko Habitat home-build BYNIKKI WORK • FOR ENERGY PIPELINE
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10-year-old Adrianna Reyes talks about her childhood home, she wrinkles her freckly nose in disgust. “There was mold everywhere,” she said, her little shoulders shuddering under a head of dirty blonde hair. “And there were mice problems.” She and her little brother, 9-year-old Aiden, hen
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used to live in a mobile home in Fort Lupton with her father, Zach, and stepmother, Tiffany. After the family moved in, they learned the home had been condemned because of termites. Their landlord dug a large hole for a new foundation around one half of the trailer but never filled it in. As time passed, the home was slowly sinking into the ground.
When the temperature dropped in the winter, Zach would climb under the trailer to take a blowtorch to the freezing pipes. Adrianna didn’t know what it was like to take a hot shower without waiting for her dad to heat the water first. The conditions of the home were awful, but rising rental prices and a lack of available
or affordable housing left the Reyes family with few other options, though both parents worked. Cheri Witt-Brown, Greeley Area Habitat for Humanity executive director, said the Reyes’ home was one of the most dangerous and unlivable she’d ever seen. “Everyone deserves a safe, decent place to live,” she said. “This is who Habitat is for.” On Nov. 11, the Greeley Area Habitat for Humanity handed U.S. Navy veteran Zach Reyes the keys to his new home in Hudson, complete with hot water, mold-free ceilings and more necessities he hadn’t had for most of his childrens’ lives. It was the first Colorado Habitat for Humanity home built specifically for a veteran in need, and was sponsored by Atmos Energy, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., and the Shlessman Family Foundation. The land for the home was donated by the town of Hudson. “We are a patriotic town that wants to make a difference in the veteran community,” said Hudson Mayor Raymond Patch in a news release. Hudson also donated a second piece of land to the Greeley Area Habitat for Humanity under the stipulation that it too be used for a home for a veteran. Amanda Gash, Anadarko Petroleum manager of social investment, said if and when that build begins, the company hopes to help again. This was the 10th home the company helped build, and when Gash learned the home in Hudson was for a veteran, it was an
Volunteer builders from Anadarko Petroelum work on the Reyes family’s new home last fall in Hudson. Volunteers built the house through the Greeley Habitat for Humanity. Photos for Energy Pipeline by Greeley Habitat for Humanity.
easy decision to get involved. It also allowed Anadarko employees to help Habitat for Humanity with a build in northern Colorado. Before, the company had only assisted with builds in the metro Denver Area. “We had all of our volunteer spots (for the build) filled within about 20 minutes,” Gash said. Gash said the volunteers gave about 300 hours of work to build the home.
Mike Lutkin, an employee of Anadarko Petroleum, works on the Reyes home in Hudson last fall.
Without support from oil and gas companies, many of the projects Habitat for Humanity does wouldn’t be possible, Witt-Brown said. The energy sector is always among the first to offer assistance, she said, from large-scale efforts such as those after the September 2013 flood to individual builds such as the Reyes home. Robin Olsen, spokeswoman for Anadarko, said the company has a large focus on community service because it’s beneficial not only to the public, but to the employees. “These are our communities. We live and work here,” Olsen said. “It makes our jobs very rewarding.” Kimberly Mendoza-Cooke, regulatory affairs supervisor with Anadarko, worked for two full days and several partial days on the Reyes home, and said the experience was powerful. Zach and Tiffany were on-site helping build their home on both days Mendoza-Cooke was there, which she said gave the volunteers the chance to see firsthand the people they were helping. She laughed when she said one of her favorite memories was talking with Tiffany about the plans for the kids’ rooms — the first time the two wouldn’t have to share — and what colors they had picked out for the walls. Adrianna’s is pink and leopard print. Aiden’s is green and camouflage. During the three-months of on-and-off building, Zach only missed one work day, WittBrown said. JANUARY 2017 ENERGY PIPELINE 17
for the Greeley Area Habitat for Humanity, said her favorite day of the build was when several of the volunteers helped one of the neighbors clean out his storm drains and haul an old TV to the trash. Whenever there was something to be done, they did it, she said, whether it was putting up walls at the Reyes build site or clearing out overgrown brush on the grounds of the community church. On Veteran’s Day, the home officially became the Reyeses’. Now, Adrianna can walk the two blocks to her elementary school in Hudson. She doesn’t have to go to before-school daycare after riding the bus from Fort Lupton. The kids can both play barefoot in the yard without getting goat heads in their feet – Adrianna said that will be a first. Tiffany, who runs a gourmet cake business, now has a place to put a freezer, where she can keep baking ingredients on-hand. The family dog — a miniature blue heeler named Juneau — has a safe place to run, behind a fence volunteers built specifically for her. And Zach finally gets a man-cave in the form of his own garage. Throughout the house, support beams in the walls hold little messages of encouragement from the volunteers, written in permanent
A message written by one of the volunteers at the build site wishes the Reyes family luck with their new home.
“Zach Reyes was quite possibly the most engaged and active participant that (the volunteers) have ever encountered in all of the years that we have been doing this. Gash said. “(He) is kind of a strong-and-silent type, a man of few words, and his actions spoke much louder than anything you might say.” All Habitat for Humanity home recipients are required to put in 500 hours of work on the home, but Witt-Brown said Zach exceeded that number by far, all while working his full-time job in Arvada as a cable technician.
ALL HABITAT FOR HUMANITY HOME RECIPIENTS ARE REQUIRED TO PUT IN 500 HOURS OF WORK ON THE HOME, BUT ZACH EXCEEDED THAT NUMBER BY FAR, ALL WHILE WORKING HIS FULL-TIME JOB. It was important for him to have the hands-on experience building his own home, but also to see firsthand the efforts others were making for his family, Zach said. During construction, neighbors and community organizations such as a women’s auxiliary group and the Hudson Fire Protection District came to the work site to offer help, lunch, water or their welcome to the Reyes family. Adrianna made friends with a girl in the neighborhood — the daughter of the woman who sewed and donated curtains for Adrianna and Aidan’s rooms – and now, they have sleepovers. When anything caused delays at the work site, Zach and the volunteers would go around to neighbors’ homes and see if they needed anything done. Lowrey Moyer, resource development and volunteer coordinator 18 ENERGY PIPELINE JANUARY 2017
Zach Reyes works with an Anadarko Petroleum employee on his house in Hudson.
marker on the wood for the Reyes family to remember. Those messages are invisible in most of the home, buried behind drywall and paint, but in the garage, the beams are bare and the family can read them clearly. They say things like “Thank you for your service,” and “God bless.” The notes Zach remembers most are the ones that say, “Welcome home.”
MORE INFO To learn more about the Greeley Area Habitat for Humanity, go to greeleyhabitat.org.
MAKING HOLE Mrs. Alford’s Nitro Factory BY BRUCE WELLS • AMERICAN OIL & GAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Although a proper turn-of-the-century lady, she cooked 3,000 pounds of nitroglycerine every day. Mrs. Byron Alford, the “Only Woman in the World who Owns and Operates a Dynamite Factory,” was an astute businesswoman in America’s first billion-dollar oilfield. Discovered in 1871, the 85,000-acre Bradford oilfield in northwestern Pennsylvania and adjacent New York remains an important producing region. “The ‘miracle molecule’ from the Bradford field is high in paraffin and considered one of the highest grade natural lubricant crude Pouring nitroglycerin was risky oils in the world,” enough in the late 19th century explains historian oil patch. Doing it for an illegal well “shooting” led to the term Sherri Schulze. “moonlighting.” Schulze is the longtime director of the Penn-Brad Oil Museum, which opened in 1971. The museum includes an Historical Oil Well Park with a 72-foot cable-tool derrick. In 1881, Bradford accounted for 83 percent of all the oil produced in the United States. Thanks to modern technologies, the region today produces natural gas from the 400-million-year-old Marcellus Shale. In November 1899, the New York World featured the Bradford oilfield and the nitroglycerine company run by Mrs. Alford (two decades before women won the right to vote). “It is an odd business for a woman to be in,” she noted in the newspaper article, “but I know no reason why a woman who understands it cannot manage it as well as a man.” Mrs. Alford had entered the business in 1884 with her husband. Ten years later, owing to his failing
health, she took over the operation. By 1899 she had increased daily production to 3,000 pounds of nitroglycerine and 6,000 pounds of dynamite. Demand was high since nitroglycerin detonations – “shooting” a well – could greatly increase a well’s oil production. Civil War veteran Col. Edward A.L. Roberts had patented an “exploding torpedo” as early as 1865. Mrs. Alford’s manufacturing plant consisted of 12
A 72-foot wooden cable-tool derrick stands outside the The Penn-Brad Oil Museum three miles south of Bradford, Pennsylvania.
BRUCE WELLS, is the founder of American Oil and Gas Historical Society, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of oil and gas. He is a former energy reporter and editor who lives in Washington, D.C.
buildings - each cheaply built of unpainted wood. A brick building would have been prettier, she told the New York reporter, but it would cost more to replace. “The owner of a nitroglycerine factory never knows beforehand when it is going to blow up, or afterward why it did blow up,” the reporter added. “There is never anyone to explain how it happened.” In 1899, nitroglycerine was a primitive, temperature-sensitive mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids with glycerin. Knowing the temperature was vital. “On the accuracy of the thermometer depend the lives of the employees,” Mrs. Alford said. “When the mixing is done, the liquid is the color of milk,” she added. “It is drawn off into a wooden JANUARY 2017 ENERGY PIPELINE 19
match or otherwise erred. The factory and their home were obliterated. Although the family was buried under debris, neighbors dug them out and found they were not seriously injured. The family rebuilt and started again. Mrs. Alford raised her daughter, Dessie, in the business. “I believe in bringing up a girl to work, even if it is not necessary from a financial point of view,” said Mrs. Alford. “Riches, if they fly away, do not work so much hardship for a girl who has been taught to work.” The 19th century oilfield was a dangerous place made even more dangerous by nitroglycerine. Despite the hazards, Mrs. Alford prospered. She died in 1924 of natural The Penn-Brad Oil Museum preserves a laminated (though wrinkled) 1899 newspaper article, part of a school project done by one of Mrs. Alford’s descendants, notes Director Sherri Schulze. causes at age 77. Bradford today is home to the oldest U.S. operating refinery, founded in 1881. In tank in which there is 18 inches of cold water. As the milky fluid addition to the oil museum and park (actually in nearby Custer City), strikes the water, red fumes light the surface and there is a sound like more petroleum history can be found at the Drake Well Museum in the hissing of geese.” Titusville, 70 miles west through the Allegheny National Forest. If successful, the nitroglycerine settled to the bottom of the wooden tank. Poured and readied for transport, an eight-quart can weighed 26 pounds and sold for $8 dollars. It was delivered by wagon – trains would not transport nitroglycerine for any price. Mrs. Alford lived with her husband and daughter near their factory. One evening, an employee may have absent-mindedly lit a
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“Making Hole” is a term for drilling coined long before oil or natural gas were anything more than flammable curiosities. Bruce Wells is the founder of American Oil and Gas Historical Society, a 501C3 nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of oil and gas. He is a former energy reporter and editor who lives in Washington, D.C.
TECH TALK
Turning to smart birds can sniff out natural gas leaks BY GARY BEERS • FOR ENERGY PIPELINE
What do a turkey vulture and the new advanced “Raven” drone have in common? Yes, they both can fly and have a bird’s name – but the more interesting answer is that they are airborne tools for rapidly detecting leaks from natural gas pipelines.
TURKEY VULTURES LOCATE GAS LEAKS FROM PIPELINE FOR OIL COMPANY In 1938, the Union Oil Company of California was having difficulty locating a number of leaks in a 12-inch natural gas pipeline that extended 42 miles through rough terrain in coastal California. One of their field engineers suggested an approach that was applied in Texas and involved wild, turkey vultures, who are well-known for their sense of smell. A high concentration of ethyl mercaptan (a gas
with a pungent, garlic or skunk-like odor) should be introduced into the pipeline and then personnel patrol the route and observe where concentrations
of turkey vultures circling or sitting on the ground in the vicinity of the pipeline. This procedure was tried at the California location and several leaks were readily located. On the basis of these field experiences, researchers have proceeded to conduct numerous scientific field trials using this chemical as an attractant to confirm this bird’s unique ability to detect this odorous chemical (The Role of Olfaction in Food Location by the Turkey Vulture – Cathartes aura, K.E Stager, Contributions in Science, Los Angeles County Museum, June 1964)
RAVEN: A SMART DRONE TO DETECT EMISSIONS IN OILFIELDS About 78 years later, the Raven, a prototype drone engineered to detect methane emissions from leaking pipeline, flare stacks, or values, was introduced during the October 2016 opening of GE’s new Oil and Gas Technology Center Oklahoma City. The drone is equipped with a laser-based sensor that store and concurrently can send real-time methane data to computer held by worker on the ground. Other specifics of the drone include: • four sets of helicopter blades. • weight is less than 20 pounds. • can fly up to 50 mph for up to 40 minutes on a single charge (six batteries). • can provide data on the severity of the leak as opposed to infrared camera which can only detect the presence of a leak. • custom software that allows planning its own flight
For over 50 years, GARY BEERS, has worked in numerous fields of environmental science as a consultant, regulator and educator. This career included senior management position with major consulting, nonprofit and public organizations. He has founded several successful firms to capture emerging resource management markets. One of his latest ventures, EnviroScienceINFO, provides content for public media.
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and with an application the user can draw a new flight path. GE projects methane inspections with the drone will be three time faster than human inspections. A promotional video showing
the Raven drone and an example of programmed flight path for inspections at tank battery can be seen online (www.youtube.com/ watch?v=GHDyHALZ3EQ). Incidentally, GE partnered with Oklahoma State University’s Aerospace Program to develop the prototype drone (GE Drones Are Coming to Squeeze More Savings From the Oil Patch, D. Wethe, Bloomberg.com, October 10, 2016)
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Earlier in July, Southwestern Energy Company conducted a test run in the Fayetteville shale play (Arkansas) where the Raven drone detected gas leaking from a pair of well sites located about a half mile apart (GE Oil & Gas Unveils Drone for Aerial Inspection of Methane Leaks, Clean Oil & Gas Foundation, October 2016). GE is currently improving the hardware, including increasing the size of the drone, and finalizing a software package that will bring integrate all the data Concurrently, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory with funding from Pipeline Research Council International has been developing a mini-drone for detecting leaks from natural gas pipelines (Mini NASA Methane Sensor Makes Successful Flight Test, JPL/NASA News, March 28, 2016). NASA developed methane sensing equipment for the Curiosity rover, a land-based drone, which landed on Mars in 2012, and has been advancing this technology (NASA Open Path Laser Spectrometer) for other uses – such as leak detection, in parts per billion, by airborne drones. The variety of use for smart drones has exploded during the past few years – with hundreds of application in oilfields. A unique example is the use of micro-drones to inspect the conditions of internal wall surfaces of oil storage tanks. Certainly, drones are the popular answer for doing work involving the “4 Ds”- dirty, distant, dull, and dangerous (GE Raven Sniffs Out Oilfield Savings, Drone Business Center, October 2016).
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Water is always a RESOURCE ENERGY PIPELINE JANUARY 2017
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DATA CENTER
The oil and gas industry is a large part of Colorado’s economy. Below, find statistics on drilling production, well permits and rig counts.
2016 DRILLING PERMITS
RIG COUNT BY STATE
COUNTY
NO. (% OF STATE TOTAL)
Weld..............................................................................................1,362 (60%) Garfield........................................................573 (25.3%)
State Dec. 9 Nov. Avg. Colorado 26 20 Louisiana 47 50 Oklahoma 80 77 New Mexico 30 31 North Dakota 32 35 Texas 303 271 California 6 6 Alaska 6 8 Ohio 18 16 Pennsylvania 31 27 Wyoming 20 16 Source: Baker Hughes Rig Count. Dec. 9
Oct. Avg. 19 46 72 32 31 250 6 9 14 25 13
Sept. Avg. 19 40 66 29 28 244 5 5 14 22 13
2016 GAS PRODUCTION
COUNTY *YTD PRODUCTION (% OF STATE) Weld........................................482,510,298 (37.3%) Garfield......................................373,731,869 (29%) La Plata ..................................238,236,594 (18.4%) Las Animas ................................ 58,483,318 (4.5%) Rio Blanco .................................. 44,154,427 (3.4%) Mesa ........................................... 26,066,954 (2.0%) State ...................................................1,291,661,399
La Plata...................90 (3.97%) Adams.............57 (2.5%) Jackson...........56 (2.5%) Rio Blanco...50 (2.2%) State........................................................................2,264 Source: Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission as of Nov. 1
US RIG COUNT
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999. Area Dec. 9 Nov. Avg. Oct. Avg. Sept. Avg. U.S. 624 580 543 509 Canada 230 172 157 141 Source: Baker Hughes Rig Count, Dec. 9
2016 OIL
PRODUCTION COUNTY *YTD
PRODUCTION (% OF STATE)
Weld Rio Blanco Garfield Cheyenne Arapahoe Lincoln Adams Larimer State
79,765,150 (89.1%) 3,193,727 (3.6%) 1,187,151 (1.3%) 928,363 (1.0%) 740,485 (0.82%) 701,557 (0.78%) 621,558 (0.69%) 611,307 (0.68%) 89,518,606
Source: Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission as of Dec. 15
Source: Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission as of Dec. 9
COLORADO ACTIVE WELL COUNT
Weld ..........................................................................22,885 Garfield .....................................................................11,148 Yuma ...........................................................................3,879 LaPlata........................................................................3,325
Las Animas .................................................................2,953 Rio Blanco ...................................................................2,893 State .........................................................................53,903 JANUARY 2017 ENERGY PIPELINE 23
Source: Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission as of Nov. 1
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