Fisher County oil drilling permits submitted or approved August 2019

Listed by API number, district, lease, well number, permitted operator, county, status date, status number, wellbore profile, filing purpose, amend, total depth, and status.

15133134 7B EMILY 2H MORIAH OPERATING,LLC(586557) FISHER Submitted:07/31/2019 Approved:08/02/2019 855773 Horizontal New Drill N 6500 APPROVED
12 miles SW of Rotan (an overlap from last month)

15133136 7B MARTIN PHILLIPS 1 GUNN OIL COMPANY(339493) FISHER Submitted:08/15/2019 Approved:08/15/2019 856274 Vertical New Drill N 9000 APPROVED
10 miles W of Roby

15133137 7B R&G FARMS 2 GUNN OIL COMPANY(339493) FISHER Submitted:08/15/2019 Approved:08/16/2019 856284 Vertical New Drill N 9000 APPROVED
9 miles W of Roby

15133075 7B COCHRAN 2 GUNN OIL COMPANY(339493) FISHER Submitted:08/19/2019 Approved:08/26/2019 856370 Vertical New Drill N 5000 APPROVED
4 miles SW of Hobbs

15133113 7B SIE ROOMS 1 SHARP IMAGE ENERGY, INC.(770731) FISHER Submitted:08/19/2019 Approved:08/20/2019 847554 Vertical New Drill Y 5900 APPROVED
5.6 miles NE of Roby

15133138 7B SCOUT 1 LAINCO, INC.(482345) FISHER Submitted:08/22/2019 Approved:08/22/2019 856504 Vertical New Drill N 6300 APPROVED
10 miles N of McCaulley

15133139 7B MASON 85 1P PEREGRINE PETROLEUM PRTNR, LTD.(653271) FISHER Submitted:08/26/2019 Approved:08/28/2019 856554 Vertical New Drill N 7500 APPROVED
Exploratory test well 14.6 miles SW of Roby

15133140 7B SAHARA 9 2H BROWNING OIL COMPANY, INC.(103088) FISHER Submitted:08/29/2019 Approved:08/30/2019 856648 Horizontal New Drill N 7500 APPROVED
16.1 miles SW of Roby (Permit says SE, that is incorrect)

Permit changes from July: DALE CAVE 5, EMILY 1H, HUDDLESTON -A- 2R & 3R have been approved.

All information comes from the Railroad Commission of Texas website.

When you get caught between Mexico and Texas

- Amarillo, TX Postcard -

Sing the post title to the tune of "When You Get Caught Between the Moon and New York City".

In Texas, many words are derived from Spanish, but it never occurred to me before that Amarillo was one of them.

I got to thinking this week about those double Ls. Surely not, I thought. It's probably the name of some old white guy that had a cow or a ranch or something. Surely, it can't be Spanish. Well, it is, indeed. It means yellow.

I tried it out, saying it in a Spanish way. Yikes, I don't know about that. Amario, rolling the R and making the Ls into a Y sound. That sounds way to pretentious for someone with a thoroughly back pasture Texas accent. Also, as an older person with a few molars missing, that "rrrr" is mighty tough to do. Practice is needed.

I've tried to say Spanish words correctly, such as Caballero, Villa, Quinta, but I botch them with my flattened phonetics. I don't have the lilt.

What makes it worse is that George Strait has perpetuated and carved in stone the mispronunciation of the city. He's really going to get to Amarrriyo by morning.

The postcard featured in the photo can be purchased on ebay.

The price of propane, depth restrictions, activities

It's a good time to buy propane. I just ordered 100 gallons from Gray Fuel in Rotan and it's going to cost me $170. I've been jotting down a little note every time I've bought propane since February 2014, and this is the cheapest it's been in all that time. The second cheapest was in October 2016, at $1.75 per gallon. It's opportune for me, as I have to wait until I'm nearly out to order. My tank is is very small and the minimum delivery is 100 gallons.

I was checking out The Mineral Rights Podcast, Episode 30 today and heard mention of something called depth restrictions. My understanding is that one piece of property could be parlayed into many leases if different depths are specified. It's an interesting concept, one that is above my skill level, but something to consider when negotiating a contract. Did I need a lawyer to get leased? Too late, now.

There is something going on up the one-lane road next to my house. Many 18-wheel dump trucks are hauling in base for another road that's being made on a piece of land up that way. I don't see a drilling permit for that area, so I'm waiting to see what it turns into.

This area is blocked from direct access to a major highway, so trucks are having to come down narrow-laned farm-to-market roads and single lane county roads to bring in material and equipment. It's a little alarming for the local traffic to have to contend with the oversize vehicles on these usually quiet back roads. Travelers out this way should be aware and perhaps be ready to pull off the road if it looks like there's not enough room. There's no loss of pride in pulling over and letting the other fellow cross a narrow bridge or get through a place where the edges have been eaten away. It'll give a person the opportunity to gawk without getting ran over.

Upcoming public meetings

The Fisher County Commissioners Court will hold a Special Meeting on Monday, August 19, 9 a.m. in the Fisher County Courthouse. The next regular meeting will be held Monday, August 26, 9 a. m. at the courthouse.
Click here for the Special Meeting agenda. Click here for past meeting minutes.

The Fisher County Hospital Board will hold a public hearing Monday, August 19, 6:30 p.m. in the hospital conference room regarding the proposed budget for 2020. The regularly scheduled board meeting will be held directly following the budget meeting.
Click here to link to the hospital website and board agenda.

On Friday, August 30, 9 a.m., the 32nd Judicial District has FISHER COUNTY PUBLIC HEARING AUDITOR/COURT REPORTER on the docket.
Click here to link to the court agenda calendar.

A public hearing will be held regarding the Fisher County proposed budget for the fiscal year of 2019-2020, the FY2019-2020 Fisher County Forfeiture Fund, the County Clerk Archive Fund, and the District Clerk Archive Fund. This will be held Monday, September 9, 9 a.m. in the courthouse.
Click here for the link to the notice, and here for the link to the budgets.

Public hearings will be held discussing the proposed tax rate of 0.757703 for the Fisher County Appraisal District, a raise over the current rate of 0.718526. These will be held Monday, September 9, and Thursday, September 12, at 9 a.m. each day in the courthouse.
Click here for the link to the notice. Click here for the link to past meeting agendas.

Emily comes to life

- Emily lease -

The Grimmett Brothers boys have been working hard getting the Emily lease laid out. This is a little over a mile west of my place.

As usual, I am a bit confused about the way the site is documented on the Railroad Commission map. There are three permitted locations associated with this place: Emily SWD 1D, Emily 1H and Emily 2H.

Emily SWD 1D is identified as an injection well and the other two as horizontals. There are two horizontal well symbols on the map where this lease is being built. The permitted locations indicate Emily SWD 1D on this site, with Emily 1H and 2H permitted sites running south, one angling west, one angling east, creating a triangulated area. Maybe 1H and 2H are where the bottom of the holes will be.

I don't really know about all that. I can only say for sure that a lease is being built.

Oh, Sweetie

- Sweet zinnia -

When my mom was making frequent trips to the hospital, the nurses would call her "Sweetie" and "Honey" instead of her name. It rubbed me the wrong way, especially knowing that my mother was not a nick-name-user type person. She addressed people by their actual name. I was offended for her when people called her Rosie, a shortening of Rosemary, even though she didn't seem to mind. She might have even found it endearing.

I get perturbed when I'm called Sweetie, especially by women, unless it is someone of a grandmotherly nature. I'm not sure what it is that causes a younger woman to address an older woman as Sweetie. There's been a girl at the convenience store that called me Sweetie, a young doctor that called me Sweetie (I yelled at her, she couldn't diagnose my problem so I felt I had nothing to lose), and more recently, a young woman mechanic who called me Sweetie.

Is this a way of disarming me? Do I seem like I need to be put in my place? Maybe I'm overbearing, although it seems to me that I'm so unimposing that it's hard for people to listen to me until the end of a sentence before they begin to talk over me or to check out of the conversation completely. Is it a way of distancing themselves, making them feel superior to me?

Maybe I should be glad they are calling me Sweetie and not something else. That may be it. Sweetie is a pseudonym and social mores are saving me from being truly insulted.

 I should be glad, but I'm not.

Fisher County oil drilling permits submitted or approved July 2019

Listed by API number, district, lease, well number, permitted operator, county, status date, status number, wellbore profile, filing purpose, amend, total depth, status, and area.

15133128 7B WOMACK 3 SOJOURNER DRILLING CORPORATION(800750) FISHER Submitted:06/28/2019 Approved:07/01/2019 854702 Vertical New Drill N 7100 APPROVED
10 miles west of Roby

15133129 7B GORDON NC 8 GUNN OIL COMPANY(339493) FISHER Submitted:07/18/2019 Approved:07/22/2019 855307 Vertical New Drill N 5000 APPROVED
4 miles SW of Hobbs

15133135 7B DALE CAVE 5 SOJOURNER DRILLING CORPORATION(800750) FISHER Submitted: 07/31/2019 855774 Vertical New Drill N 7300 DRILLING PERMIT
10 miles west of Roby

15133133 7B EMILY 1H MORIAH OPERATING,LLC(586557) FISHER Submitted:07/31/2019 855769 Horizontal New Drill N 6500 DRILLING PERMIT
12 miles SW of Rotan

15133130 7B HUDDLESTON -A- 1R SCOUT ENERGY MANAGEMENT LLC(760218) FISHER Submitted:07/30/2019 Approved:07/31/2019 855729 Vertical New Drill N 6000 APPROVED
12 miles SE of Sylvester

15133131 7B HUDDLESTON -A- 2R SCOUT ENERGY MANAGEMENT LLC(760218) FISHER Submitted:07/30/2019 855731 Vertical New Drill N 6000 MAPPING
12 miles SE of Sylvester

15133132 7B HUDDLESTON -A- 3R SCOUT ENERGY MANAGEMENT LLC(760218) FISHER Submitted:07/30/2019 855733 Vertical New Drill N 6000 MAPPING
12 miles SE of Sylvester

15133134 7B EMILY 2H MORIAH OPERATING,LLC(586557) FISHER Submitted:07/31/2019 Approved:08/02/2019 855773 Horizontal New Drill N 6500 APPROVED
12 miles SW of Rotan

All information comes from the Railroad Commission of Texas website.

Mickey goes to Washington

- Mickey in D.C. -

I was digging through the family vault the other day, two large cardboard boxes marked Templeton, looking for old documents, when I ran across photos from the farmers strike back in 1978-79. I remember Dad being ecstatic about the trip and the cause, but I think what he really enjoyed was the history. The thought of being in a place of such provenance was thrilling to him.

To acquaint, or reacquaint, readers with this event, forty or so years ago thousands of farmers descended on Washington, D.C. in a nationwide attempt to bring attention to the needs of the agricultural community. It was a protest, which is funny, because if there was anyone who didn't care for hippies back then, it was farmers, and everyone knows that the favorite pastime of hippies was protesting.

Anyway, there was a Fisher County contingent, or maybe a group of counties got together, including Fisher. There were many more photos in the batch with a lot of faces I didn't know, except for one of Harold Roberts. They were there for serious business, but I think they had a good time, too.

Driver Responsibility Program BITES THE DUST!!

A very welcome letter arrived today, it began: Dear xx, The State of Texas has repealed the Driver Responsibility program, effective September 1, 2019.

Well, my reply to that is: Woohoo!! Woohoo!! Happy days are here, again! Ding, dong, the witch is dead!! I have been writing about this issue for the past two years, and I am glad to see this law ditched.

I have been helping an individual get through this awful program. This person has paid $1,300 in surcharge fines, uncertain which tickets were being paid on, because this was not stated on the billing, and was not provided by the billing company when the information was requested. We believe it was for two tickets issued for not providing evidence of vehicle insurance, incurred in 2009 or before.

The final year of surcharges was to begin in September, another $260, and, thankfully, will not have to be paid. The balance is now $0.00.

I am grateful to the authors of Texas House Bill 2048 and all who voted for it.