$115,000 Civil Penalty

Alaskan Stuff: I thought we would be glad by now that Pioneer Natural Resources had packed up and moved south, due its disaster at the Oooguruk prospect up on the North Slope. “Disaster” defined because after spending $billions$ in trying to ream out semi-dry holes - yes FRACing - it never realized a return worth even a can of...well Pioneer gets the coveted “Spotted Dick” award. See, when an oil man is loosing out, environmental stewardship takes a back seat. I wrote about the “Oooguruk”, and supplied “twenty seven 8 by 10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each was to be used as evidence...” From my experiences up north, I knew it would only be a matter of time before this Texas nut-case called it quits. NUT-case? Look, to compete with the “Big Boys” in their “Cash Cow” royale, success doesn't come easy if at all. So when the Pioneer investors realized that retirement portfolio was being sucked dry, it meant a “For Sale” sign. But even though the “Big Boys” work the same neighborhood west of Kuparuk, not interested in the mess it was! Indeed Pioneer was forced to sell out cheap to another unknown “Independent” - for pennies on the dollar. So what, write it off as a loss! The State of Alaska should have said “No Deal”, as the “Oooguruk” is an unsafe man-made island in a somewhat pristine delta of the Colville River – unsafe due the fact that a rogue ice-sheet came close to tipping over the drilling rig back in June of 2009 as part of the 100-year flood during the 1^st year in operation – a month later Sarah Palin quit! That incident was pretty hush-hush, because Palin's dream of “Independence” with the “Independents” was under attack! Google “Ooogurk Ice Attack”, and see how low-lifers are destroying the oil industry here in the 49er. Look, compare how the “Big Boys” build things! But enough was finally enough with the “Pioneer” and it sold out to an outfit that appears really “un-fit”! Wow, when times are tough...Careless Energy seems to be asleep at the wheel-house! And now that the oil safety police are on too this “Oooguruk” nightmare, what has been red-handedly “caught”, well had an accidental release occurred – a “blowout” - it would have made Joe's sunken ship disaster tame in comparison. OK, answer me this all you oil experts. How come ENI – which owns a piece of the Oooguruk pie in the face – how come it has blown oil out of the Nikaitchuq “Flare Stack”, on two separate occasions? That's like blowing crap from your sewer line out of a chimney – yes almost impossible. Maybe it's something in the water, as the Nikaitchuq is just over yonder the “Oooguruk”. Maybe if the state cannot shut these idiots down, how about a renaming – as to name in honor of Native Alaskans this horror is a sacrilege. So how about Dumb and Dumber? Anyway, at least with low oil prices, maybe we can re-coup our loses through more “Civil Fines” as the way these two-bit outfits seem to operate, easy pickins!

From the "Oil Police":

DECISION AND ORDER

On January 12, 2015, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) issued a Notice of Proposed Enforcement Action (Notice) to Caelus Energy Alaska, Inc. (Caelus) regarding the ODSN-27 well of the Oooguruk Unit (OU). Caelus failed to report to AOGCC a pressure communication, failed to complete required monthly reports, and failed to complete required Mechanical Integrity Test (MIT) in well ODSN-27. The Notice proposed specific corrective actions and a $115,000 civil penalty under AS 3 l.05.150(a).

Mitigating Circumstances

The AOGCC considered the factors in AS 31.05.1 SO(g) in determining the appropriate penalty. Caelus' decision to wait two months before notifying the AOGCC of possible serious and substantial issues with the integrity of the ODSN-27 well bore cannot be characterized as a good faith attempt to comply with the AOGCC's orders and regulations. Although no injury to the public occurred, the seriousness of a potential well bore failure, and the obvious threat it poses to both public health and the environment cannot be denied. Caelus' failure to comply with the fundamental wellbore mechanical integrity identification and reporting requirements raise the potential for similar behavior with more serious consequences making the need to deter similar behavior substantial. Violations relating to Underground Injection Control Class II well integrity and notification practices warrant the imposition of the civil penalties.