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Questar's year-round drilling plan for the Pinedale Anticline area in Wyoming was approved Tuesday by the state office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The program will be phased in over the next year, allowing Questar to significantly increase exploration and production activities while reducing its overall environmental impact through directional drilling and other measures.
Current seasonal restrictions give Questar a narrow drilling window (May through November) to protect big game, sage grouse, and other sensitive species' habitats. However, year-round drilling is expected to cut 10 years from development time.
The year-round plan also includes a move to directional drilling, which will reduce impacts on soil, wildlife, water and air resources. The company plans to limit its drilling footprint to 9% of the total authorized under the Pinedale Anticline environmental impact statement (EIS) record of decision. Furthermore, a new 107-mile six-inch diameter condensate pipeline is expected to save more than 25,000 truck trips each year. Questar also has proposed to spend $210 million in mitigation implementation.
The BLM touted the reduction in human activity impacts and surface disturbance in crucial mule deer winter range and greater sage-grouse habitats. "We coordinated closely with the Wyoming Governor's Office, the Wyoming Game & Fish (WG&F) and Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality on this proposal to develop a decision that provides a long-term benefit to deer and sage-grouse habitat," said Pinedale Field Office Manager Priscilla E. Mecham. "This is a model of cooperation between state and federal agencies, working together for the coexistence of energy development and wildlife needs."
Questar CEO Keith Rattie said the plan "embodies what Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal and others have called 'responsible development.' While we would prefer to begin full implementation this winter, we understand and accept the BLM rationale for phased implementation over the next year."
The new drilling plan is scheduled to begin this winter and continue for nine years. It allows Questar to do the following:
•Use one pad with two drilling rigs during the winter of 2004-2005;
•Use three pads with two drilling rigs per pad in the winter of 2005-2006 and thereafter through the winter of 2013-2014;
•Activities during the May-November period will continue to be governed by the original Pinedale Anticline EIS;
•Develop Questar's leasehold utilizing directional drilling with up to 16 wells per pad -- resulting in only one-third of the drilling-phase surface disturbance contemplated under the original Pinedale EIS;
•Construct a produced-water and condensate gathering system to be completed before the winter of 2005-2006, eliminating up to 25,500 tanker truck trips per year at peak production;
•Fund for monitoring of mule deer and other critical wildlife for duration of development activity;
•Fund air-quality monitoring;
•Use flareless-completion technology to reduce noise, air and visual pollution during well-completion operations;
•Fund habitat enhancement on contiguous undeveloped areas of Questar's Pinedale leasehold; and
•Provide additional monitoring and mitigation measures.
"We'll have a better idea of the upside potential of the BLM's decision on 2005 well count and production by midyear after we see how much impact, if any, sage-grouse nesting activity has on startup of our unrestricted summer operations," said Chuck Stanley, CEO of Questar Exploration and Production.
Current seasonal restrictions give Questar a narrow drilling window (May through November) to protect big game, sage grouse, and other sensitive species' habitats. However, year-round drilling is expected to cut 10 years from development time.
The year-round plan also includes a move to directional drilling, which will reduce impacts on soil, wildlife, water and air resources. The company plans to limit its drilling footprint to 9% of the total authorized under the Pinedale Anticline environmental impact statement (EIS) record of decision. Furthermore, a new 107-mile six-inch diameter condensate pipeline is expected to save more than 25,000 truck trips each year. Questar also has proposed to spend $210 million in mitigation implementation.
The BLM touted the reduction in human activity impacts and surface disturbance in crucial mule deer winter range and greater sage-grouse habitats. "We coordinated closely with the Wyoming Governor's Office, the Wyoming Game & Fish (WG&F) and Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality on this proposal to develop a decision that provides a long-term benefit to deer and sage-grouse habitat," said Pinedale Field Office Manager Priscilla E. Mecham. "This is a model of cooperation between state and federal agencies, working together for the coexistence of energy development and wildlife needs."
Questar CEO Keith Rattie said the plan "embodies what Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal and others have called 'responsible development.' While we would prefer to begin full implementation this winter, we understand and accept the BLM rationale for phased implementation over the next year."
The new drilling plan is scheduled to begin this winter and continue for nine years. It allows Questar to do the following:
•Use one pad with two drilling rigs during the winter of 2004-2005;
•Use three pads with two drilling rigs per pad in the winter of 2005-2006 and thereafter through the winter of 2013-2014;
•Activities during the May-November period will continue to be governed by the original Pinedale Anticline EIS;
•Develop Questar's leasehold utilizing directional drilling with up to 16 wells per pad -- resulting in only one-third of the drilling-phase surface disturbance contemplated under the original Pinedale EIS;
•Construct a produced-water and condensate gathering system to be completed before the winter of 2005-2006, eliminating up to 25,500 tanker truck trips per year at peak production;
•Fund for monitoring of mule deer and other critical wildlife for duration of development activity;
•Fund air-quality monitoring;
•Use flareless-completion technology to reduce noise, air and visual pollution during well-completion operations;
•Fund habitat enhancement on contiguous undeveloped areas of Questar's Pinedale leasehold; and
•Provide additional monitoring and mitigation measures.
"We'll have a better idea of the upside potential of the BLM's decision on 2005 well count and production by midyear after we see how much impact, if any, sage-grouse nesting activity has on startup of our unrestricted summer operations," said Chuck Stanley, CEO of Questar Exploration and Production.
