[BITList] Only in Texas...Drilling in Your Backyard! 1

[FA]

Funny how only the rich are allowed to exploit the earth's minerals
frank

> Houston area men drill well in backyard
>
> HOUSTON, Texas – A Sugarland, TX man and his neighbor are in police 
> custody after the duo drilled an unauthorized gas well in the backyard 
> of one of the men in search of a fuel source for their extraordinarily 
> large backyard barbecues.
>
> Delvin Finn, 57, and Tracey O’Shillelagh, 53, both of Sugar Walls 
> Crescent have been charged with unlawful oil and gas exploration, 
> damage to public property, and a number of charges laid by the 
> Environmental Protection Agency. The Securities Exchange Commission 
> also dropped the hammer on the men for concealing proven reserves.
>
> At the time of their arrest, the 2 men were too intoxicated to 
> understand the charges laid against them, and they are each currently 
> being held on $250,000 bail. Although their wives could bail them out, 
> they choose not to in an effort to teach them a lesson for their 
> backyard hi-jinx. Sargent Milfson of the SPD explains:
>
> /According to eye witness accounts, Mr. Finn and Mr. O’Shillelagh were 
> seen building a make-shift drilling rig in Mr. Finn’s backyard. They 
> were somehow able to drill into the ground and before they knew it, 
> they hit an oil pool, caused a mess and we descended on the scene 
> shortly thereafter. – Officer Derrick Milfson, Sugarland PD/
>
> Sources close to the charged told police that the 2 men had always 
> complained about having to replace the 10 lb. propane tanks in their 
> 250,000 BTU barbecues, yet they were reluctant to tie them into a 
> natural gas line because they knew that they could tie in their own 
> gas for less cost. Employed in the oil and gas industry, the men 
> believed that there was an unconventional gas play underneath 
> Sugarland and they were going to use their own specialized software to 
> help them exploit it.
>
> http://www.provedplusprobable.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/backyarddrill.jpg 
> <http://www.provedplusprobable.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/backyarddrill.jpg>
>
> The aftermath from the failed backyard drill
>
> Neighbors describe the rig as being constructed entirely out of 
> materials that the pair acquired from The Home Depot. The 3/4″ plywood 
> Kelly floor sat atop a 4″x4″ treated frame that also supported a 
> rented portable concrete mixer rigged to act as a make shift top drive 
> system.  The shakers were cut from plastic totes and duct tape, while 
> most of the piping was food grade hose and PVC piping.  A series of 
> clothes line pulleys and extension cords completed the rig.
>
> Jamie McWendys, a neighbor who also happens to be a drill rig hand, 
> describes what he saw:
>
> /I recall one of them saying to the other that they should use 
> pressure treated wood for extra strength and durability, which makes 
> absolutely no effin’ sense./
>
> /It looks like they got down a pretty good distance and after a loud 
> pop, the BOP that they had fashioned out of 2″ PVC failed at what 
> looked like 13 or so psi and oil just kinda oozed out of their rig 
> onto their yard and then onto the street, into the gutter and so on./
>
> /That’s when I called the cops. – Jamie McWendys, neighbor and eye 
> witness/
>
> The EPA, who arrived on the scene within minutes, was able to measure 
> the rate at which the oil was spilling into the gutter thanks to a 
> flow meter that the pair had put together with a halved-out 10″ pipe 
> and a Walmart digital weather vane. The leaking well flowed at 47 
> barrels per hour for the 3 hours it took an emergency well site 
> service crew to shut in the well.
>
> The 2 men have their first court appearance scheduled for July 1st, 2014.
>
>

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