YOUR AD HERE »

Gas commission issues 12 citations

Lynn Burton
Post Independent Staff

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission issued 12 notices of alleged violation to energy companies in northwest Colorado since April, including EnCana Oil and Gas and Maralex.

Most of the notices were issued to companies operating in the Craig and Rangely area, said Jaime Adkins, northwest area engineer for the oil and gas commission.

Beside EnCana, which produces and explores for natural gas in western Garfield County, the cited companies are Chevron/Texaco, Maralex, Timberline, Cimarron and Bayless.



The notices stem from Adkins’ inspections and complaints from the public, and can be appealed to the commission.

The EnCana citation was issued after a drilling mud spill at Divide Creek south of Silt.



“There was no environmental damage,” Adkins said. “The mud tanks were allowed to overflow.”

EnCana has drafted a remediation plan to fix the problem, Adkins said.

Maralex was cited for weeds and a leaky water tank at its Rifle-Boulton No. 1 well south of Silt. The well is idle, and Maralex was given until July 6 to fix the problems.

Chevron/Texaco failed mechanical integrity tests on six oil wells in the Rangely Field in Rio Blanco County. Adkins said he inspects up to 90 wells in the Rangely Field every year, and six failures are not uncommon.

“The wells were installed in 1955, so that many failures is to be expected,” Adkins said. “Chevron is a model operator.”

Adkins said Chevron/Texaco was given until Nov. 10 to fix the problems.

Contact Lynn Burton: 945-8515, ext. 534

lburton@postindependent.com


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.