Drill Here Drill Now?

Sky high oil prices and lots of pressure to develop domestic energy sources have really had an impact on our nation's economy. The impacts don't stop there. Oil companies have been working at a frantic pace to drill wells and extract the oil and gas available on public lands in certain areas of the west. Oil and gas reserves in parts of WY, UT, CO, and NM have been the target of massive drilling projects. The drilling process, the well pads, the access roads, the traffic, the roughnecks themselves, all have significant impacts on the local economy, the land, and the wildlife. I took some pictures from the air the other day to illustrate how just how intense the impacts from the extraction industry can be in an area.

Maybe the impacts are justified? This is a tough, and touchy subject for a lot of folks. I can understand both sides of the argument. I understand the "drill here drill now" philosophy every time I fill my car up, or pay my natural gas bill. But, I also understand the "stop the drilling" argument every time I drive through (or fly over) a gas field, or look at the downward trends for deer, antelope, and sage grouse populations. Anyhow, here are some recent photos of the affected areas.




Here is a drillig rig in the process of drilling a well. During the drilling, the site turns into a small city that bustles 24/7 until the well is complete.

Here is a compression station along a pipeline in the middle of nowhere, 2.5 hours from the nearest paved road. They spent some extra money painting it in an attempt to make it blend in with natural landscape. I get a kick out of it every time I drive by.