Oil companies apply to drill in Railroad Valley

Two companies recently filed for permits to drill for oil in Railroad Valley, one of the few oil fields in Nevada.

True Oil has a lease with the BLM and proposes to drill a well 22 miles south-southeast of Currant. The company submitted a plan of development July 29.

The company is proposing to locate a well head on a one-acre gravel pad. The water table is only about 10 feet; True Oil plans to line a reserve pit with bentonite to prevent potential contamination of the aquifer, according to the proposed environmental assessment published by the BLM. The proposed well will be drilled to about 6,200 feet.

True Oil signed an agreement with Cross Ranch to obtain water. The BLM said about 572,000 gallons will be used during drilling operations.

True Oil has a right-of-way permit from County Road 445 to private lands, from there the right-of-way extends another 1.5 miles to the plugged and abandoned well. True Oil has asked to amend the right-of-way permit to construct a new 540-foot access road to the lease boundary, a two-track road.

The BLM application requires reclamation of all disturbed areas within one year from the date of plugging and abandonment of the well.

True Oil LLC, based in Casper, Wyo., is a family-owned exploration and production company operating mainly in the Rocky Mountain region, the company states on its web page. The company dates back over a half century when H.A. “Dave” True Jr. and his wife Jean opened their own business.

The True companies include Belle Fourche Pipeline Company, Black Hills Trucking Inc., Bridger Pipeline LLC, Butte Pipeline Company, Toolpushers Supply Co., Cambria Europe Inc., Eighty-eight Oil LLC, True Oil and True Ranches.

Western General Inc. also applied for a drill permit July 29 with the BLM Tonopah Field Office, for the Tom Spring well 12 miles south-southwest of Currant. The company also submitted an application for transportation and utility systems and facilities on federal land for a right-of-way permit to access the lease.

This well will be located on a one-acre gravel pad. Due to the low permeability of the soil and depth of water of about 150 feet, the reserve pit outside the well pad won’t be lined. The proposed well will be drilled to approximately 9,700 feet. About 352,000 gallon of water will be used in the drilling process.

Access will be through existing and newly constructed roads, the BLM environmental assessment states. Western General applied for a 20-foot right-of-way across 4.9 miles of existing road and 1.7 miles of road proposed for construction.

About 1,385 cubic yards of gravel would be required to construct the pad, another 3,755 cubic yards would be required for the road work.

Western General produced 1.16 million barrels of oil in Nevada from 1989 to 2003.

Comments for the environmental assessment on the Western General project expired Sept. 11.

BLM began a 30-day comment period for the True Oil LLC application Monday; it closes Dec. 24. The environmental assessment may be accessed online.