Alaska's Cesspool

So North Dakota is about to surpass California as 3^rd in command with respect to oil development. Alaska may also fall behind once again this race. This state at one time in history not too long ago enjoyed the kingpin position, but the good old days are behind us. Texas stole away the “kingpin” status from the “Last Frontier” and since then it appears there in no retreat. In my book, that is OK, as what is on the horizon with future development if continued unchecked may turn Alaska into a giant “Cesspool” - it stinks! Gone are the days when 2-million barrels of oil rolled down the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline towards Valdez. And the trend will continue, the downward spiral with Alaska loosing out as 2^nd on the elite list, then down and down and down. Now the state regulators went stupid when oil throughput started declining drastically in early 2007 and put up an “Open for Business” sign accompanied alongside Her Governess Sarah Palin's hugshot - embracing schizophrenia - in efforts to entice novice like oil investors to come north and develop where no decent oil company had developed before. Believe it or not, this state was lucky when the oil fields were monopolized by “Big Oil” and the little guys knew best to stay away. But good things come to an end, even after 30-years of little to no competition. At least there was some environmental stewardship towards the “foot-print” we leave upon the fragile tundra and ecosystem during our ways and means to extract resources. Nowadays, there is a push on to turn this state into a “Cesspool”. Case in point is the history behind Pioneer Natural Resources, the 1^st “Independent” to brave the North Slope of Alaska, in efforts to waste away the shareholders future. So if this company cares not about its investment members, why should they care about what they leave behind in Alaska? The Oooguruk oil exploration and exploitation project located in the once pristine waters of Harrison Bay on the Colville River delta, it is not panning out anywhere close to what the executive board would like to happen, that is why a management change is occurring. Good thing for this Texas based oil company that the price of oil has remained so high, as when it tanks, so will this company's stock. And the sooner they leave, the better. Maybe with this management change taking place it means packing up already. Let's hope so. Unless we want to see this state turn into a real “Cesspool”. Just recently, Pioneer sanctioned the AOGCC regulators to allow drilling for oil in the “Torok” reservoir, because the oil development from two other formations already permitted was not panning out as expected, maybe flakes instead of nuggets. By this time in the project, Pioneer was supposed to be producing about 20,000 barrels per day of low grade crude oil. See, early on the company's down-hole geology gurus said to drill into the Kuparuk and Nuiqsut formations, as the Torok formation was messy. Now in efforts to perform oil development, it takes a “disposal well” approved by the EPA to get rid of oil field waste, which includes all kinds of things, from nasty chemicals to human crap. So Pioneer choose the “Torok” formation as its disposal site, getting approval from the state and Fed.'s as this formation was at a shallower depth then the Kupauk and Nuiqsut formations along with the fact that there was available a “clay and shale” buffer zone, so the permitted disposal well's effluent was to stay out of harms way, from any communication with neighboring formations. All was good! But with Pioneer sanctioning the regulators to drill for oil in the “Torok”, it is basically getting permission to drill into A “CESSPOOL”. Pioneer created the underground “cesspool” and now they want to tap into it. And this disposal area has become a human waste “cesspool”. Look, on a small man-made island with about 120-workers, with food available 24/7, there is a whole lot of crap to contend with. And with running water at a limit, the crap must be collected in a giant tank and pumped under high pressure down-hole to this well designated as an EPA certified waste disposal well. Yes indeed, it takes a permit from the state and EPA to send crap into the underground. So when the Kuparuk and Nuiqsut formations started to peter out, Pioneer went desperate and sought approval to develop the Torok formation, which is the “crap” field. They never should have been allowed to mess with this messy formation, now that crap has been injected down-hole for the last 4-years, along with other oil field wastes. One bad “Frac” shot in the “Torok” formation, if not already contaminated from natural fractures and the fact that the “crap” is injected at very high pressures above and beyond any documented formation pressures, it means “contamination” of “OUR” natural resources. And this is what the AOGCC should be looking at, instead of being pressured into letting the “Independents” operate under what amounts to be “blind” regulation. It appears that after Sarah sat on the commission's board under Frank Murkowski, regulation went re-defined! Look, I am not a geologist, this is simple dirt mechanics at work this situation. In fact, when Pioneer applied for drilling into the “Torok”, there came no mention of the disposal well in the same general vicinity, like this was an intentional smokescreen “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” manipulatory move. Not to mention that if “communication” takes place and the recoverable crude oil becomes contaminated, it places over 690-million barrels on the “non-acceptable” list, it would amount to a great loss to this state's resource royalty income – defined as lost production! See, if crap gets into the crude oil stream coming topside from the “Torok” formation and enters the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline, the state will have to shut down production, as crap isn't allowed to enter the stream. So the state regulators are once again asleep at the wheel. But do you honestly believe that the state regulators give a rat's ass about worker safety? They live and work about 800-miles from the oil fields and pipeline, where one finds flush toilets instead of having to “crap” in bag – as is the case in some remote oil drilling camps. So from the comfort of their luxurious office, they see no problem with “crap” contamination as the recoverable oil makes money for the state. If I were a worker along the pipeline, I would seek legal advice and advise on any and all contact with the existing crude oil stream, as it is all mixed together once it enters the 1^st pumping station in Prudhoe Bay. See, nobody would have to take responsibility if workers start getting E-coli “gut” sickness. Pipeline workers come in direct contact with crude oil each and everyday of their work routine. From laboratory workers called on to check the crude oil characteristics to maintenance workers who come in direct contact with the crude oil to fix things, like valves and pumps. So now that Pioneer has been granted permission to suck oil from the “Torok” which has already begun production without any increased testing for “crap” contamination, there now comes the possibility that “crap” may be coming down the 800-mile long pipeline, yes fecal matter, because we have regulators missing in action or regulators that don't understand the severity of their actions and inactions, or regulators that fell in love with Sarah's love affair with “Little Oil”, the “Independents”! Yes, these “Independents” are heading North to Alaska and are getting away with shitting on our front lawns and scenic walkways and letting it sit and set for someone else to pick up. Alaska, once the “Last Frontier”, now maybe the “Great Cesspool” state, Sarah Palin's Alaskan legacy!