Conversations with a former oil and gas man

In years past, working for Columbia, I was required to certify and test every 3 years to supervise a drilling rig. The classes were held at Union Drillings office. Other than that, I was aware of Precision Pipelines presence in the area last year. 

 I have personally spoken with Senator Evan Jenkins at the time he was running for senate,...just after he changed from Democrat to Republican. There seems to be more money and favors available from the Republicans right now, so this is who he sides with. We discussed the "Marcellus Lie" and its economic impact on the state. My view has always been that non-renewable resources [oil, coal, metals, etc. ] should never leave the continental US, and that mining royalties and natural gas royalties should be paying for every drop of water that is being pumped by companies like WV American water. I also told him that gas companies were doing extremely dangerous things with the new gas they were finding and even more dangerous things with the fluids. This is happening simply because the new methods and technology have no laws or regulations on the books at this time to govern them. Jenkins does not support most of the current EPA regulations on coal, oil, and gas, and as his voting record will show,...does not want any new rules to be written to protect the public or hinder those industries. Jenkins also stated that developing the Marcellus and Utica was a boost to jobs and the states tax base. I replied "yes, if you own a motel, restaurant, gas station, or have a spare room you can rent out to all of the illegal immigrants working in the area." { I have seen agents from the DOL rounding them up on several sites in Doddridge and Harrison counties and checking for proper contractor licenses that didn't exist.} Big Oil and politicians have always loved cheap labor at any cost, and they're not paying a price for hiring them.

The "Marcellus Lie" is this:  I have worked with several of the most famous geologists and geo-physicists in WV, and even the CEO for Royal Dutch Shell has stated that there is no gas being produced by shale formations. It is simply a fractured reservoir for gas coming from somewhere else. In the case of the Marcellus, it is coming from the next formation down,...the Onondaga Limestone. Traditionally and by current law, the Onondaga cannot be drilled or produced without a "Deep Well Permit" which is much more involved to engineer and more expensive to permit. Shale has always been considered as "non-porous" and inert by geologists but it fracks easily and companies are exploiting it as a roadway to Onondaga gas. Do you think any "Deep Well" permits are being bought and paid for by Big Oil in WV? LOL. 

I haven't worked in the state of WV since 5-15-15, after having a serious disagreement at Mobley, WV and West Union, WV over job site safety and several deliberate violations of current federal law. The VP's and Directors of the company I was working for kindly called me and asked me to vacate the premises after I sought advice as to MY LIABILITY from two DEP Inspectors and the Doddridge County Prosecuting Attorneys Office {which would not even return my calls}. I had also refused to witness and sign off on any more DOT required "Hydro Test to Substantiate MAOP" for pipe and compressor facilities as their piping and fail-safe devices were not adequate for the application. They called me a liar. Then the following week after firing me,....they went back and changed many of the devices. Do you think they called me to apologize and offer me my job back? Nope. Instead, I was warned not to "burn any bridges."  I have no regrets there, but I do feel sorry for those that are still working for that company, and I hope the law catches up with the criminal element sooner than later.

Oh,...did I mention that the primary contractor on that job also fired an Electrical Superintendent and a Mechanical Engineer that were made aware of these hazards and were supportive of my position? 

I have attached a recent photo of the last project I worked on back in November 2015. This facility processes gas from the Utica and Marcellus for shipping gas "south".

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