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 1st
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":
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.