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Signs in the Eagle Ford Shale

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After the National Oil & Gas Summit in Dallas last weekend, some of us headed to Austin for a rally. After that, a few of us headed to the Eagle Ford Shale to do some testing. I have a lot to share with you about the Eagle Ford Shale, Dear Readers. Operators down there aren’t even trying to operate in a responsible manner.

But, before we get into the Eagle Ford, I wanted to share a snippet from an E&E article about the summit. I can’t link to the article because it’s subscription only.

Anti-fracking activists plot their next steps
Nathanial Gronewold, E&E reporter
Published: Monday, March 4, 2013

And activists counter that the public would be hearing about a far greater number of “fracking gone bad” cases were it not for state laws and regulators that lean heavily in favor of the offending companies at the expense of property owners.

Iris Marie Bloom, a former freelance journalist from Philadelphia turned Marcellus Shale fracking activist, also pointed to the gag orders and nondisclosure agreements individuals are forced to sign in exchange for getting their water cleaned or for receiving compensation.

She spoke about how she was once able to talk to some homeowners openly while viewing black, foul smelling water coming from their taps. Calling back a week later, she would then be told that they could no longer speak to her about their cases, due to legal threats.

“That’s the price they’re extracting from people for delivering clean water,” Bloom said. “The gag orders have a tremendous impact.

I saw this sign warning about the deadly, highly corrosive hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas at a pad site in Karnes County. I could smell the H2S before I was close enough to read the sign.

 

At the same site, we saw this badly corroded sign.

…this is your brain and lungs on natural gas.

Everywhere we went in the Eagle Ford, the odor of H2S was strong. It’s clearly crossing the fence-line and dispersing into the pastures and neighborhoods nearby. But H2s wasn’t the only, or even the worst…

 

 

About Sharon Wilson

Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.

Comments

      • WCGasette says

        They do apply!! Someone needs to file a COMPLAINT with the RRC. The statewide rule/law doesn’t require the API# for the wells on the signage (even though this is the BEST way for the Railroad Commission to know which site you are telling them about). Only the Lease Name(s) and the Well #(s).

        We only know this from seeing the signs all over our area. And we have complained about them being unreadable. Accurate acreage must be stated on the signage outside the entrance, too according to the Rule (as provided to the RRC on the completion paperwork).

        Statewide Rule 3.3

        3.3. #5 at the above link states:

        […]
        (5) The signs and identification required by this section shall be in the English language, clearly legible, and in the case of the signs required by paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this section shall be in letters and numbers at least one inch in height. [emphasis added]
        […]

        Whoops. The signage rule needs revision to provide for the Spanish language as well. They have a lot of work to do!!

  2. Anonymous says

    Forget about the RRC. It is a waste of taxpayer money. If you ever get any action about a complaint to the RRC, you might get a SIGN PUT UP– and that’s about all the results wil be. ha.

  3. Oil and Gas fuels our country says

    You do realize that H2S affects nerve endings in your nose to deaden your sense of smell, and that by the time you actually started to smell H2S, you would be dead. Most likely, you were smelling the oil and gas being produced because that might not be as pleasant to some people.

    • TXsharon says

      You must work in the oil & gas industry. People who work in the oil & gas industry give out incorrect information all the time.

      “Hydrogen sulfide has a very low odor threshold, with its smell being easily perceptible at concentrations well below 1 part per million (ppm) in air. The odor increases as the gas becomes more concentrated, with the strong rotten egg smell recognisable up to 30 ppm. Above this level, the gas is reported to have a sickeningly sweet odor up to around 100 ppm. However, at concentrations above 100 ppm, a person’s ability to detect the gas is affected by rapid temporary paralysis of the olfactory nerves in the nose, leading to a loss of the sense of smell. This means that the gas can be present at dangerously high concentrations, with no perceivable odor. Prolonged exposure to lower concentrations can also result in similar effects of olfactory fatigue. This unusual property of hydrogen sulfide makes it extremely dangerous to rely totally on the sense of smell to warn of the presence of the gas.”

      http://www.safetydirectory.com/hazardous_substances/hydrogen_sulfide/fact_sheet.htm

      • Oil and Gas fuels our country says

        You must have never worked in the Eagle Ford or seen someone almost die from H2S because of their own mistakes in not monitoring properly. And you must have also not had to read the reports on near misses with H2S situations that depict exactly what I said. If you want to know more, go spend a week out in the field; you could learn a lot.

        • TXsharon says

          I’ve been to the Eagle Ford several times with someone who works in industry who almost died from H2S gas exposure.

          You CAN smell H2S gas.
          Eventually if you are exposed for a long time, it will cause olfactory fatigue and you can no longer smell it.
          If the exposure levels are high enough you can lose the ability to smell it.
          H2S is deadly.

          You said: “by the time you actually started to smell H2S, you would be dead. ” And that is not true. You CAN smell H2S gas. All depends on the concentration levels.

          I know what H2S smells like. I lived in the gas patch for 16 years.

  4. Oil and Gas fuels our country says

    Believe what you want. You probably shouldn’t believe me since I’ve just been working in O&G for 25 years and the Eagle Ford the past 5.

    • TXsharon says

      Let me be sure I understand what you are saying.

      You said: “by the time you actually started to smell H2S, you would be dead.”

      So your claim seems to be that it is impossible to smell H2S gas.

      Is that correct?

  5. TXsharon says

    00047 ppm is the odor threshold for H2S. That means most people can smell it at that level.
    10 to 20 ppm is when health effects start.
    100–150 ppm is when the olfactory nerve is paralyzed and you lose the ability to smell it.
    320–530 ppm can lead to death.

    Believe whatever you want. I”m not going to argue with you.

    H2S is deadly. They are drilling these wells right next to people’s homes.

    • Oil and Gas fuels our country says

      And those people agree to lease their mineral rights to them and make themselves millionaires by doing so. So why aren’t those people complaining? And if you want to site movies like Gasland, well, that’s already been debunked… I will believe what I want because I work in this business and deal with these problems everyday thank you.

  6. Oil and Gas fuels our country says

    Haha, that article was great. It’s amazing that the people that actually work at the wellsites aren’t suffering terribly like those people. While you’re at it, maybe we should stop all construction because of the different carcinogens they produce, and factories, and wow, so many other manufactured things. How about fertilizers and pesticides on farms and local grasses and their reactions with heat?

    Also, can they not move? Or, just maybe, they try the same thing so many other people try, which is to get their income from complaining about oil and gas near them. You would be surprised at the number of people that try to get money saying their health is at risk, and lots of people even live over 100 miles from wells. Boy who cried wolf?

    If you don’t like what we’re doing, you should really look into what they’re doing overseas with far less regulations. Those people might suffer more don’t you think? Or are you just one of those people who hops on a bandwagon and forms an uneducated opinion because someone wrote lots of articles to get famous. Have you read about the EPA redacting a lot of things they previously stood behind after actual research was done? You probably have, and you probably believe the random journalist looking to get famous by saying they were payed off. You probably also believe in many conspiracy theories. And if you want oil and gas to be gone, make an example of yourself and do away with it. Get rid of your car, and no, electric cars won’t work, how do you think electricity is powered? Ever heard of a power plant? So you have your bike, no electricity, take away your makeup, lots of hair and skin products, take away the hot water you use to shower or clean dishes, just go shower in the nearby river, and if you buy that hybrid car, well, you should know how uneconomical they are by now since everyone does, as well as how you have to drive them 200,000+ miles to break even…. I think you get my point. If you want to keep fighting the very thing our daily lives are based on, then go ahead. If you don’t use oil or gas in any part of your life, well, that’s not true if you are using a computer, so scratch that. Anyways, please, keep fighting it. It’s a hypocritical battle. If you’re going to fight something you should at least back it up by how you live your life. The true goal you accomplish is getting uninformed lawmakers who don’t even know the difference between drilling and completions to tax oil and gas companies even more, which makes them charge more for the products you buy, so you pay more, and I get paid more, but it’s all relative to the inflating dollar. Either way you look at it, your cause is lost.

  8. Andy Mechling says

    Oil and Gas …
    First, I should tell you that some of what you have said does strike a chord with me. For example, while Sharon is correct to say that H2s has an odor threshold in the sub ppb range; it is also correct that sense of smell CANNOT be relied on to detect H2S at dangerous levels, for the reasons you describe above.
    I have many friends who work in the patch and at refineries. I have respect for you folks. I appreciate the work you do and the sacrifices you make. After all, Im not willing to retire my pickup OR my chainsaw any time soon.

    • Andy Mechling says

      . . . and the more of a crotchety old-timer you are, the more I’m going to like you anyway. We need guys like you out there. I think this is obvious.

      What Im hoping you can see is that people like myself and Sharon and Catherine are also doing valuable work; that you also benefit from this work, and that our efforts are also worthy of respect. Your kids breathe better air, and drink cleaner water. You enjoy better workplace protection.
      Do you enjoy fishing? Camping? National Parks? Fireproof undergarments?

      • Andy Mechling says

        The truth of the matter is, in the interests of public health, we simply must find a way to remove sulfur from our fuels, and to reduce NG emissions accross the board, including from wellhead, pipeline, processing & storage.
        As with lead; the industry you work for will fight us every step of the way. As with lead, the science is crystal clear as to what needs to happen.
        As with lead, industry simply needs to do the right thing at long last.

        I hope you can respect my point of view. Crotchety as it may be.

  9. The Honest Truth says

    I think my other comment was deleted? Either way, referring to the anonymous person above, there are people that go to each wellsite every day. They are people that work in the field hired by companies. Truck drivers do not work at wellsites, their job is specifically to unload wells from tank batteries, which may or may not be at each wellsite. (Usually in Texas there is not a tank battery for each wellsite). Also, truck drivers actually get paid pretty well. If you google it you’ll be as amazed as I was. Guess it pays to be driving all the time.

    I never said the EPA was paid off. And here are links to where they revised what they had previously said (and revised is a better word than redacted, sorry for my incorrect diction).:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/28/epa-fracking-environment-climate-change_n_3174590.html

    http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/04/epa-just-shook-debate-over-fracking/64678/

    http://dailycaller.com/2013/04/29/epa-data-makes-life-complicated-for-anti-fracking-activists/