Local oil-and-gas operator outlines conventional drilling process, environmental safeguards

Sam Harvey, co-owner of Boron Energy, told Warren City Council on June 16 that the wells drilled in and around Warren are conventional, shallow wells distinct from deep horizontal Marcellus or Utica shale operations, and described the steps operators take to protect groundwater and manage wastewater.

"The whole everything we do with the regulations is about keeping the oil and the gas out of the freshwater and from the producer's side, keeping the freshwater out of your oil and gas," Harvey said during a 40-minute presentation that included diagrams and technical details of drilling, casing, cementing and frac stages.

Harvey said typical wells in the city are drilled to roughly 1,000 feet total depth, with surface casing set below freshwater zones and cemented in place to create a protective sheath around the steel pipe. He described slant wells as a common technique to reach minerals beneath nonindustrial parcels while placing the surface rig in industrially zoned property. After drilling and geophysical logging, Harvey said operators use staged hydraulic fracturing to increase formation permeability; on local sandstone reservoirs this process uses relatively small volumes, recycled brine where practical, and a limited range of chemicals compared with deep shale fracks.

On concerns about spills and wastewater, Harvey said operators commonly capture flowback in lined pits or tanks and either recycle brine for later operations, transport it to permitted injection wells or send it to a treatment facility. "Every year, you have to report all the brine you produced, what disposal it went to to the state," he said. He added that, historically, older wells not plugged to modern standards can be a pathway for stray gas if re-energized, and that proper cementing and reporting are the primary regulatory safeguards.

Council members and residents asked about air odors from tanks and possible health risks. Harvey explained the odors are from volatile organic compounds given off by storage tanks and said new regulations limit tank venting; operators can use separators and vapor control equipment if odors become a problem. He also addressed whether shallow fractures can reach groundwater: "Because of the stresses that are on the Appalachian Basin, you don't have to worry about it," he said, describing how fracture geometry is constrained by in-situ stress conditions.

Harvey concluded by noting economics for small conventional wells are marginal at current commodity prices and by answering individual questions about flowback handling, local disposal options and the profile of production over a well's lifetime.

The council did not take action; the presentation was informational.