William Prentice, CEO, Meridian Energy Group, Inc. comments on the North Dakota Supreme Court decision of the North Dakota District Court refusing to overturn the issuance of the air quality Permit to Construct (“PTC”) for the Davis Refinery by the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”). This Decision marks the end of the litigation process with respect to the Davis PTC, which was issued in June, 2018, after a rigorous 18 month review by the DEQ.
Paul Wiseman, Fit To Print, discusses the blow to the pipeline industry in the United States. From workers to economy to regulational power to everyday energy. Wiseman explains how safety and environmental issues will increase with the decision to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline and Keystone XL Pipeline. The Atlantic Pipeline is also part of the conversation. Wiseman predicts a rise of oil transported by truckers and rail with the pipeline issues, and it will create agriculture issue. In the past, crude oil has taken precedent by the rail companies creating issue for farmers trying to get their product to market. The interview dives into the thesis that fossil fuels are not going away anytime soon. There may be a decrease in production, the marketplace may become regulated and controlled, but it will not go away.
Tom Slocum, Untitled: Orphan Well Project, gives a history of how he became so passionate about this issue. Slocum explains how loopholes in the system allowed many wells to go unnoticed for decades. The interview discusses who is responsible for the wells. Slocum says in many cases, the legal obligation to the plug the well belongs to the landowner, however most landowners do not have hundreds of thousands, or much less millions of dollars required to properly maintain, or plug and abandon these wellbores to current government standards. This is especially true for wells that have no mechanical integrity left. These wells can costs over $30MM to plug as cited by industry experts in the well control field.
The Crude Life Podcast can be heard every Monday through Thursday with a Week in Review on Friday.
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