Contested oil wells in Colorado suburb clear major hurdle
Source: Associated Press
Contested oil wells in Colorado suburb clear major hurdle
By DAN ELLIOTT
March 13, 2019
DENVER (AP) — A fiercely contested oil and gas project in a residential neighborhood outside Denver cleared a major hurdle Tuesday when state regulators approved a request by an energy company to drill for reserves that belong to dozens of people, including some who don’t want to participate.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission voted 5-1 to allow Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. to use a process called forced pooling to tap oil and gas belonging to several owners and gather it from a single drilling site in suburban Broomfield.
Some of the commissioners said the state’s forced pooling laws are outdated and are not suited to the Broomfield project, but a majority said Extraction had met the requirements of the law as it’s written.
Joe Salazar, an attorney for opponents of the project, said he was disappointed by the vote but pleased that some commissioners believe the laws is outdated. That’s one of the arguments Salazar is making in a lawsuit in federal court that also seeks to block the Broomfield project.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/2b2a9f00546d4da69006c765cec91f36
