Sopris Sun THE
VOLUME 1, NUMBER 36 • OCTOBER 15, 2009
The “mast” of a recently erected gas rig stands above Highway 133, just west of McClure Pass. Photo by Terray Sylvester
Rigs on the Roadside Gas development continues west of McClure Pass By Terray Sylvester
I
n recent weeks, two new gas rigs have been catching the attention of drivers on Highway 133 on the far side of McClure Pass. The towers, or “masts,” of the rigs are the most visible portion of the relatively small-scale, but ongoing, natural gas and coalbed methane development in the area. “It was just chance that both of those ended up being close to the highway,” said Brad Robinson, president of Gunnison Energy, LLC, which owns one of the rigs.“It’s the first time, probably, that there were two true rigs visible to the highway.” Gunnison Energy and SG Interests, a Texas-based company that owns the other rig visible from the road, are the most active companies in the area, and have been active in the region for about the last seven years.
According to Bureau of Land Management maps, gas leases lie on both sides of the highway between the pass and Paonia Reservoir. The majority are located to the north and west of the highway, extending over the Muddy Creek watershed and the slopes of Bull Mountain into the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests. Land to the southeast of the highway, beneath the Ragged Mountains and Chair Mountain has also been leased, but so far activity has been concentrated in the bulk of the leases to the northwest. The area in question lies near land being focused on by the Thompson Divide Coalition, a Carbondale-based group that is attempting to withdraw federal land generally to the west of town from oil and gas leasing. But since much of the activity
in the McClure Pass area is occurring on private land, the coalition is steering clear of engaging with it. “TDC is not looking at the private land, but if you’re talking about oil and gas resources, the pools don’t respect private and public land boundaries,” said Peter Hart, staff attorney with the Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop, which is working with the coalition.“So if there is gas under private land there is probably gas under the [nearby] public land, too.” “From our perspective at the Wilderness Workshop, it’s getting pretty close to home. It certainly, I guess, signifies the importance of what the [coalition] is trying to do.” The Gunnison Energy rig, which was taken down last week, sat on a ridge on the east flank of Bull Mountain, and was briefly visible to drivers looking west from the highway, not far north of the reservoir. A well pad will remain in place. It sits on private land but accesses federal mineral rights, stated Robinson. GAS DEVELOPMENT page 5