In Colorado, Ballard Petroleum has voluntarily agreed to drill angled wells in its Garfield County well fields, according to Rich Griebling, director of the state oil and gas commission. But he acknowledged that Ballard was the exception to the rule. Only a tiny fraction of the state's 22,000 active gas wells used the directional method, he said. And it's unlikely that more than 10 percent of new wells will be at an angle. But they're not using them.
Most companies are very reluctant to take even the most minor steps to reduce their impact.
They're just going in as fast as they can and as cheap as they can in order to make huge profits, no holds barred. Staff writer Mike Soraghan contributed to this report. The Denver Post or other copyright holders. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed for any commercial purpose.