Proposed Arlington Gas Drilling Ordinances could cost big time!
Tomorrow, December 6th, at the 6:30 City Council meeting, a third set of changes to the gas drilling ordinance will be voted upon. We hope Mel LeBlanc and Robert Rivera will continue their opposition to the changes. We expect the rest of the Council to vote for these unnecessary and costly restrictions.
What do these added costs mean to the many property owners anticipating royalty payments? It means they will see reduced royalty payments for existing wells. It also means fewer wells will be drilled in Arlington. Drilling elsewhere is easier, and with gas shale deposits turning up virtually everywhere these days, Arlington’s piece of the Barnett Shale isn’t the big draw it once was. In short, we are pricing ourselves out of a market that needs us less and less every day.
Our loss will be greater than many imagine. Wells never drilled and those made less profitable by excessive regulation represent billions of dollars lost to citizens over a span of twenty years. And twenty years or more are how long gas wells can produce. On that point we can speak from experience. We own mineral rights in Oklahoma. Our gas wells, drilled more than twenty years ago, are still delivering the same size monthly checks we received from day one. You, too, may see checks over twenty years; they’ll just be smaller, thanks to those members of your city council who vote for this new layer of added restrictions.
While there’s a lot of money under Arlington that you may now never enjoy, take heart, it’ll come up some day, if not into your pocket, then to that of your children or grandchildren.
As a commentator for the Arlington Voice, Buddy looks forward to expressing the views and concerns of average citizens. Buddy has been an Arlington resident since 1955. He is the owner of Lone Star Comics and is a published author.
