Summer, oil and catching up

- Sunrise & sheets -

Hello, all! I took a little hiatus, trying to figure out how to get rid of the spammers. "You won't believe this, just scratch!". Hey, weirdos, get off of my cloud!

 It's that time in summer when the heat lets up and I start daydreaming about fall, but then another few weeks of oppressing temperatures and wind from hell will kick in before the lovely Texas autumn truly comes to stay. I guess I better enjoy these nice, dewy mornings while we've got 'em and quit complaining.

There ended up being one drilling lease permitted for Fisher County in July, according to the Railroad Commission. Canyonlands 61 60, operated by Browning Oil Company, has the permit listed on County Road 320, east of Hobbs. It looks like the site, for a horizontal well with a total depth of 7500, common for this area, will be on Farm to Market 1614, somewhere in the area across from the Williams house. Shoot, it could be up and running for all I know. I haven't driven that way in a while.

While only one permit is on the RRC site, the county records tell another story. Fast and furious leasing is going on in Fisher and Scurry Counties, and a lot of it by my operator, Moriah, aka MEI, aka Henry, aka Lone Oak, aka etc., etc. It seems all these companies have a multitude of partners. 

My poor little Ashley lease is sitting up there in weeds with dried up water pits. I've been made offers by the operator, and also Resource Acquisition Management, the company handling the leasing, to buy my minerals in the last couple of months. You all know how offended I am when people offer to buy my minerals, if you've read my past posts. Just drill already or leave me alone! It's the only investment I've got.

I was looking up some records yesterday and came across a sweet little site called Scurry Self Service, where you can look up all kinds of Scurry County records. I like Texas File, but the records are a month behind, while Scurry Self Service is more up to date. Between these two sites, the county assessor sites and RRC, I can have myself a nice little search party! 

West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, has been hanging in there around $42.  Here's crossing fingers and toes that it will stay steady.

No changes, no permits

Fisher county ended June with no new drilling permits. Scurry county had four. Three were on the Sacroc Unit, one was Strawberry 87 that was mentioned in an earlier post.

West Texas Intermediate is still hanging around $39. Some producers (mine) are saying oilfield development will be delayed six to eight months.

Force Majeure, anybody?

- Dusty sunrise -

Okay, remember the letter I got a few weeks ago? Well, today I got another one, from my landman, notifying me that they are claiming a force majeure extension of my current lease, without pay, due to current events (aka Act of God; circumstances beyond our control,etc.).

What I found interesting was that it was not all the property, as was mentioned in the previous letter. The parameters of the producers interest has become more clear to me by their expression of exactly where they want to implement the force majeure clause. I think I came out with a better deal by them doing it this way.

I've gotta say, if I never hear the words "in these trying times",  "the new normal" or yet another explanation of how many feet I am supposed to stand from other people, it will be too soon.  No one is blaming anything on Mexico or the bossa nova, anymore. The COVID is taking all the heat.

Leasing activity still going on in county

West Texas Intermediate opened at $39.12 this evening, and, despite the lull of drilling permits in Fisher county, there's still a lot of leasing activity going on, according to the May 2020 county records.

It looks like Peregrine, Moriah and others have been adding amendments and correcting existing leases, while Magnus Resources and a new player, Orange Dutch, LLC, out of Midland, have been making new ones. Weathervane Management and Permico have been purchasing mineral deeds.

Peregrine has a new drilling permit, in Scurry county. It's for an injection well, the Strawberry 87. That's the only June permit that has been issued in that county. Fisher has none, so far.

Check out Texas File for in-depth information about mineral activities.

The thing about the messenger

I think maybe the messenger isn't so innocent.

When tv stations allow scam commercials, some featuring the likes of Tom Selleck, Alex Trebek and Joe Namath, people I used to to respect (but, who cares!), to air, aren't they complicit in the crime? I mean, to me, the station is endorsing the product by airing it, and especially because they're taking money for it!

And in newspapers and magazines, all those scammy ads in the classifieds; do they approve of the message by printing it? Aren't they supposed to want to be known as factual purveyors of the truth? Do I have to mince through copy and decide for myself what warrants believability and what is chaff?

How about the postal service? Anyone can mail anything to my house, even bilkers from Sweden who want me to send them $35 to tell me the meaning of my magic number. The postal service wants us to trust them, but, again, it's up to me to figure out which mail is junk and which is from a legitimate source.

I know I have to watch out for myself, but it would be so helpful if "trusted sources" would weed out some of the sinners that try to fleece the unwitting.

I have to walk the line in life, but these shysters are making money on defrauding people, in plain sight.

Another thing, when anyone, any show, on ABC claims they are more watched, that's true, but just because it's the only station that everyone can get, digital, antennae or streaming. It really skews the curve, David Muir. You want me to believe you're the number one trusted newscaster, but when you shape facts to fit your box, you have not gained my confidence.

Phew! I just had to say all that. Now, on to facebook to start an argument about anything.

Hello, sucker!

- Summer mimosa -

The headline is a quote used by Texas Guinan, a famous 1920's New York speakeasy hostess, who was born in Waco, Texas, to greet customers visiting her establishment.  I had never heard of her until yesterday, after I read about her in a book I picked up at the Sweetwater Goodwill, The American Heritage History of the 20's and 30's.

Another interesting find was Pointie Talkie, a little 5" x 4" x 1/4" book. According to the China-Burma-India Theater website, it is an interpretation guide issued to United States Army Air Force personnel during World War II in case they were downed over China. English phrases are printed on one side, with the corresponding Chinese printed next to it.

Alright, now that I've dived into the 20's, 30's and 40's, lets come back to the present. I check the Railroad Commission drilling permit website daily, and Fisher county had been stuck at 294 pages for quite awhile. I was looking forward to getting to 295. Then, this week, it had suddenly jumped to 299. I was pretty excited, but I couldn't see any new permits issued. I'm still looking for the reason for the increase. Maybe an update in the way the permits are listed changed the number.

I received a letter from my landman this week asking me to extend my mineral rights leases by a year, without extra pay, to help them catch up on development delays caused by the last three months disasters. Maybe he should have opened the letter with Guinan's catch phrase.

The photo today is of the mimosa tree in my back yard. It smells so good in the still of the morning and attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. It's pretty messy, too, with dead blooms clinging to clothes on the line and covering the ground like bits of old, pink cotton. I'll take it, though, for the pleasure of its shade and sweet scent.

Drilling permits double from April to May

- Flare on Emilys -

That means there were two for the month. See how easy it is to misconstrue the truth? Oh, don't mind me, I've got a shed full of old axes to grind.

It seems to me that since the news got our attention with the virus, they're eager to tell us what to do and what to think.

Also, what's with all the pandering to donate here and there? We're broke, non-profits! Quit asking us for a handout, we can barely take care of ourselves! Whoops, sorry, now I'm telling people what to do.

It seems like the panic has also caused correct spelling to go out the window. I know I'm a mess on this here blog, although I try to be consistent with capitalization and tenses, but I'm aware I'm all over the place. Here's the thing: I don't get paid to do this and I don't influence thousands of people. It's very disappointing to start in on an article of interest and find misspellings. I lose confidence in the source and quit reading.

When I worked at the Sweetwater Reporter, we all used to read each other's articles and make corrections or tell a writer when something was awkwardly written. Then the paste up people would put their two cents in. Each article went through many readings before it went to print.

At the Snyder Daily News, the articles were printed out and put in an area where everyone would walk by and read them, then mark them up with red pencils. The writer would then apply the corrections to their article before submission. Again, everything was scanned and scrutinized by many eyes.

Okay, now I sound like the used-to-be who thinks things were perfect a long time ago. If you knew how inept I was at my job now, and running my life in general, you would have quit reading a long time ago.

Anyway, click on the permits tab at the top of the page to see the ones that were approved for May. Both are vertical wells.

Oil & onions

- Onions on strings -

Flares are starting to be lighted and traffic is picking up in this area. West Texas Intermediate is hanging around $33 and there's talk that the oil field is fixing to open back up. I'm just waiting to see.

I had a bumper crop of onions this year, for me anyway. I have way more than one person would need. I was despairing that they would all go to ruin when someone suggested I tie them up. A little help from the interweb made me look like a mad genius ready for the farmer's market. It was surprisingly easy and entertaining to weave the onions onto a piece of rope. They look so pretty! That just might be in the eye of the beholder, though. I didn't wash them off, I thought I'd let the rain do that.

I've been spending a lot of time in the cellar, lately. It seems like hail comes with every bit of rain. You know, a couple of years of windshield- and window-breaking hail have made me paranoid for life, even if it did happen fifteen years ago. The storms are really fierce out here, they just growl and grind and blow. So frightening.

It looks like it's going to be a wet week. I've been running around planting seeds everywhere, taking advantage of the moisture. I'm determined not to let the stickers take over my yard, to have pretty flowers and plants pushing them out. The problem is my perseverance falters when summer comes. I don't want to stand in the heat watering and have to pay a big bill. Eventually I'll just have a bunch of dried out stems and vines with stickers poking out between. It happens every year.

April 2020 drilling permit, singular

Well, we only had one permit for Fisher County this month. I'm surprised there was even one. It was for W. B. Unit 1H, down on US 180.

I have to tell you, I haven't really been too freaked out through all this that's been going on, until I saw West Texas Intermediate fall into the negatives a couple of weeks ago. I had to go outside and smoke a few cigarettes in a row.

Out here, the oilfield traffic has slowed down dramatically. Poor little Ashley's looking forlorn, with the orange fencing where they were going to spike the well having fallen over and the water pits starting to dry up. Yesterday there were guys rolling up tubing.

The Mojave and Two Emilys flares went dark this past week.

Prices are hovering around $19 today. The Rail Road Commission is supposed to meet again on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. There are 190 items on the agenda. It looks like they'll probably go into executive session to discuss proration. Commissioner Wayne Christian is absolutely against it, Commissioner Ryan Sitton is for it, so it'll be up to Commissioner Christi Craddock to break the tie.

Rolling down memory lane

- Templeton pic picks -

I went into the vault of family paraphernalia today, looking for a scrap of paper that had the handwritten word "Quarantine" on it to use for my picture today. I remember asking Dad about it and he told me it was from when he had measles, probably during the 1940's.

I combed through everything, but I couldn't find that paper. It took hours to go through the farm records, letters, photos, documents, and decorations. I can now say that it is all sorted and in order. I've had all this stuff for so long that I can't remember when I didn't have it, and every time I've wanted to find something, I've had to go through it all. My dad's graduation cards were mixed in with sympathy cards from my grandpa's funeral, papers went back and forth from 1918 to 1974, with a mass of photos mixed throughout. It was a hot mess.

The photos I chose to showcase are, starting upper left, going clockwise: my grandma, Ollie Daisy Patrick, at the time; unknown ladies in hats; my cousin Jimmy Don Stapleton, being sassy in his cowboy boots; and unknown girls in rubber boots.

Every once in a while I think about scanning all the photos onto a website for the family, but I think I'm doing pretty good just to sort them into a box by themselves. We'll put a pin in that scanning idea.

RRC meeting at 9:30 a.m., gauntlets have been thrown

The Railroad Commission, overseer of the Texas oil universe, will meet virtually this morning to discuss the pros and cons of prorating oil prices and restricting oil production.

According to the meeting agenda, this is in response to a verified complaint of Pioneer Natural Resources U.S.A.  Inc. and Parsley Energy Inc. to determine reasonable market demand for oil in the state of Texas.

147 comments were submitted laying out reasons for and against the pro rata. Devon Energy, who was influential in the rise of the current Fisher County oil boom, has come out against it. There is a great divide. It seems some environmentalists are misconstruing the purpose of the meeting to encourage disassembly of the oil industry altogether.

A list of comments can be found here.

The meeting can be viewed live or later here.

March 2020 drilling permits

Fisher County permits for March have been posted and can be seen by clicking on the tab above.

I don't think I have to tell you, the pickin's were slim. There are five listings, but Mason 1938 Unit 1H, near US 180 in the western part of the county, was listed twice this month (as well as back in December 2019), and ATE117, in the eastern part of the county between Rotan and Hamlin, looks like a sacrificial drill to maintain another well. So that leaves Carter, B.F. 12, out in Eskota, and Ashley 1H, out here by Hobbs.

I haven't been to see the other wells, but I can tell you Ashley is at a standstill. It was hot and heavy there at the beginning of the month, but once the pad was built, all activity ceased. This was right about when oil prices took a nosedive. There's a real pretty lease with full water pits just waiting for things to change.

Prices have come up a little bit this week, hovering right around $26 a barrel. I'm a little sad about Ashley, because I have a stake in her. It's like that time I won the lottery, but it was only $1.

Isaac Donaghey 1988-2020

- Isaac, 2006 -

When I first met Isaac, I didn't like him. It was sometime during his teenage years, and my husband at the time, Fred, and I were giving Isaac and my son, Dylan, a ride back to Rotan from the Rattlesnake Round-Up. The boys climbed into the back seat of the pick-up, and Isaac, a big ol' boy, was eating a bag of pork skins. He would eat one, burp, say he was going to be sick, then resume eating them. I didn't know what to make of him. I kept rolling my eyes at Fred, like "Can you believe this guy?"

It's funny to think now that I didn't know then how this boy was going to be a fixture in the background of my life. I'm not fooling myself into thinking I knew him in any deep way. He was my son's friend, and kids have a parallel but separate life from adults. I certainly didn't know him as those in his close circle in the Rotan contingent did, or even in the way the general community knew him. He threaded in and out of my sight, but I was always hearing about him. A little bit of Isaac went a long way, and that made him a bit of an enigma.

We all have our Isaac stories because he was a larger than life character. He wasn't shy. He wasn't demure. He was loud. Nothing was ever just Isaac did this, there was always a tale in the telling.

One of my own Isaac episodes had us in a car chase down Cleveland Street in Rotan. Some people had taken my pick-up joy riding and I was on their bumper in my other vehicle, yelling "Pull over the damned pick-up!" Unbeknownst to me, Isaac was in the back seat, and when he got out, my demeanor completely changed, from crazy-woman to mother-of-somebody, very polite all of a sudden (I was a little ashamed of my behavior, and I guess he was a little surprised). He was very respectful. I even had him drive the truck and park it at a secure location, and I gave him a ride to where he wanted to go.

I told my son about this later, how politely Isaac had spoken to me, and my son said, "That sounds like how he talks to cops." So I know he probably always put on his speaking-to-the-uncool facade with me, but I can still say I knew him. I have a lot of photos and stories to back that up.

I don't know what happened that fateful morning when he physically ceased to be, but it was too soon for such a young man to leave us. Gone but not forgotten is a trite saying, yet true in this instance. I can't help but wonder what he would have to say about all of this.

I bet it would be a hell of a story.

Not a cat

- Texas Opossum -

I heard loud crunching coming from the porch the other night, and looked out to see an opossum eating the food I put out for stray cats. I called out "Hey, Pickles!" and it momentarily looked up, then resumed eating. Eventually, it licked its paws clean and clambered down the steps. The creature's back feet looked like little hands wearing fingerless gloves.

In the photo, up to the right, there are two bits of metal I've found around. They're shaped like a J and a D, my children's initials.

The porch was poured by my Uncle Haskel (Hack), Dad's brother, back in 1964. My Grandma Daisy bought the house in Snyder and had it moved to the Hobbs farm for my mom and dad to live in. This was after my Grandpa Les died that same year. He ran off the Spring Creek Bridge in his pick-up, just north of Hobbs, and was killed in the crash.

The plumbing in the house was done by my uncle, Buster Taggart, who was married to my Aunt Imogene, my father's sister.

The house has passed through many hands since that time, and has had many hands take part in the maintenance and enhancement of it.

I look around inside the house and note that a table came from a neighbor, a desk from my mother, a couch from a friend. Everything this land and house and contents represents is an amalgamation of people and their efforts and what they left behind.

I realize that is also what I am, and what we all are. Imagine, each being that walks this earth is a put together puzzle that is unique in its rendering.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you I saw a possum on the porch.

Discontinuation of posting of county records

I'm taking down the page for county records because it is a long and tedious process for me to reformat the files. It's easy and free for individuals to access the the information. Using a laptop or PC (mobile won’t let you go page to page), go to TexasFile > Register (no credit card needed) > County Records > Search Now> Fisher, and on the County Clerk page, put an asterisk (*) in Full Name 1 and Full Name 2, then hit Search. Records will come up with the most recent date first. They're usually about a month behind. For more current records, the Fisher County Clerk's Office is very accommodating, helpful and knowledgeable in researching.

I've got a proposition for you

I voted early. In our county, a person could vote in two locations February 18 through February 28, 8 AM to 5 PM. I simply don't understand all the caterwauling about long lines at the polls. There was plenty of time to get in there. Then, again, I don't think anyone around here was crying about it, I just saw it on the news.

As I was going about my serious business of voting for my candidate, I got to the end of the ballot, where the propositions were, and it seemed I had suddenly fell into a facebook rabbit hole. I would have said "What the hell?" out loud if I hadn't been the only person voting at that time, but I certainly thought it.

"Do I want them to stop doing WHAT to children? Is this even happening?" and "Well, people still pray wherever they want to, despite the law" were a couple of thoughts I had upon reading the propositions (here's the list). By the way, this was on the Republican ballot. I'm not true to any one party, I vote on whatever ballot has the people on it that I'm interested in having in office.

Usually, I research and look at sample ballots, but I was so single-minded in voting for one office only that I went in unprepared. The propositions seemed preposterous, and they diminished the gravitas of the voting process, for me.

Who comes up with these? I want to see the names of the people who are responsible for such nonsense. I want to know the process of how a proposition gets on a ballot, along with the research and reasoning for placing them before the public. I have a few of my own that would pertain to real life.

I propose, say, that it should be mandatory for all students to take a class on handling bank accounts and credit cards. Learn how to reconcile payments against the balance, and remember those auto-drafts! And, hey, that credit card money isn't free.

Also, let's do something about litter. It's not okay to throw your trash out the car window, or to dump a couch on the side of the road. Aesthetics matter, people!

Now I'm off to break my mind trying to figure out the proposition process and what motivates the people who have figured it out for themselves. There's always a new trick for an old dog to learn.

Drilling permits for February 2020

Seven permits were approved in February, one being an overlap from January. A couple of Peregrine permits are still in mapping status from last month. Click on the tab above to look at a list of permits, and follow up at the Railroad Commission website to see details and map locations.

Abilene Hemp Master Class overview

- Hemp class, Abilene -

Zachary Maxwell, president of Texas Hemp Growers and founder of digital newspaper Arlington Voice, presented Hemp Master Class at the SoDA building in Abilene yesterday, Saturday, February 29.

The room was packed; I would say over 200 people were there. I went to dispel the confusion I had in differentiating between hemp and pot. I've found a lot of people have hard opinions on the subject, but none seem to be the same. My takeaway was that hemp and marijuana (marihuana, in legislative literature) look the same, but have different THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the ingredient that makes you high) levels, although growers must constantly work to maintain the lower level in hemp.

I liked the information about licensing, fertilizing, plant sexing and what to expect all around in the crop. There was no mollycoddling about this being a fairytale industry, and I appreciated that knowledge.

I had some concerns about the legitimacy of one of the panel guests, who was presented as a geneticist, and the shortening of the title assistant commissioner for water and rural affairs to assistant commissioner of agriculture.

The various hemp groups and their affiliations are somewhat confusing. There's Texas Hemp Growers, Texas Hemp Growers Association and Texas Hemp Industries Association, all three with different websites. There are many groups that are very willing to unravel the mysteries of hemp for us! Closely watching the agencies that regulate hemp, such as the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), the TDA (Texas Department of Agriculture), the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the DSHS (Department of State Health Services), might help separate the hemp from the chaff.

Anyway, the meeting was clarifying and well rendered. It didn't hurt at all that it took place in the SoDA building on Third Street, an aesthetically pleasing venue.

Dan Hunter, the aforementioned Texas Department of Agriculture Assistant Commissioner for Water and Rural Affairs, fielded a question from the audience regarding the legalization of marijuana in Texas. He said he thought it would be a long way down the road, and taking a clue from the way Texas legislation has worked in the past, didn't see it happening unless it was legalized federally.

Jan 2020 records updated

January county records are up to date. When looking for a specific name, go to the toolbar at the top of the page, click on edit, then find in this page.

Drilling permits pick up in January

There were nearly three times as many permits for January as there were for December.

Checking the permit map on the Railroad Commission site is recommended for wells of interest, as the direction given is not always correct. One permit from last year gave directions as "x miles from the courthouse in Rotan". Unless something has drastically changed, the Fisher County Courthouse remains in Roby.

Click the permits tab above for a list of January permits.

No rose garden, just a rose bush

- The little house -

I like to peruse Airbnb, the site where you can rent other people’s houses or apartments when you go on vacation, instead of staying in a hotel.

I've used it and I liked the places where we stayed. I was musing about putting an ad for my house on there and the special provisions I would have to include.

It might go something like this:

"Country living, smoking allowed, because you're an adult and I trust you to have common sense. If I have to tell you not to go to sleep with lit cigarettes between each finger, then there's no hope for you, anyway. I shouldn't have rented my house to you.

If you hear a loud, rattling, tea-pot type whistle from the water heater, that just means there's been a jump in water pressure, and you need to either take a shower (the whistling will stop while the hot water is on), or turn the water valve and water heater off (add in detailed list of how that works, lighting and re-lighting). You'll most likely need to turn it off, anyway, even after a shower. Just relight it an hour before you need it again.

The refrigerator and washing machine also make various sounds, lots of whirring, creaking and moaning. They are in proper working order, they just have a lot to say.

There's a nice wood-stove, but only use it if there's rain or snow. We're in a burn ban most of the time because we are almost a desert.

The propane heater and a few space heaters will be your heat source. In fact, check the tank out back when you get there to make sure you have enough fuel. When you leave the house, turn off all, I mean all, heaters. This old farm house is like a tinder box, just waiting to go up in flames. On the other hand, during warmer months, the air conditioner should be left on continuously.

There are many sounds in the country with which you might not be familiar. It's very quaint to hear a hoot owl or a lonely howl of a coyote, but there a few animal vocalizations that may be altogether foreign to your ear.

If you hear something like an angry bear (or bears), that is just a bellowing bull or two or three. It's alarming, but not dangerous, as long as they are in the fence, which is why they're hollering in the first place (I see and smell the ladies, but I can't get to them because of this durn fence, say the bulls).

A screaming woman type sound can either be a bobcat or coyote. The coyote sounds more like a ghost being strangled. Neither should worry you.

Oh, and if there's a tornado, you can go to the cellar, if you like, but there's no door, just a big piece of plywood to cover the hole from within, holding it in place with a big, heavy, barrel chair. If it rains, even a little, the top leaks and soon you'll be standing in inches of water. You'll quickly figure out where the only (momentarily) dry square foot is located. It's probably best just to ignore the weather. There's usually just a lot of wind and sound, but not much happens. Usually."

Well, maybe my ad needs work. Maybe another country person would see it for what it really is: a great, wonderful place to live. If you don't mind rattlesnakes (oh, I forgot to mention those!).

December 2019 slow month for permits

Only six oil drilling permits were issued for December. One of those, Cedar Breaks 104 1H, was an overlap from November.

Browning Oil Company and Peregrine Petroleum both had two applications, with Cholla Petroleum and Mercury Operating each having one.

Five were approved and one, Mercury's Hamlin Unit 22, is listed at engineering status.

The county records have been updated. Click the tab up top to see oil, gas, wind and solar records for December.