Wednesday, October 24, 2001

Fort Worth thinking about oil, gas drilling
By James Zwilling
Staff Reporter

Neighborhood leaders, oil and gas industry executives and real estate developers opened dialogue Monday on a proposed ordinance to allow oil and gas drilling and production in Fort Worth.

More than 200 people gathered at the Will Rogers Memorial Center for the roundtable discussion.

The Fort Worth City Council extended a moratorium on oil and gas drilling and production within city limits until Dec. 11 so neighborhood associations and oil and gas industry representatives can learn more about the ordinance and comment on it, meeting moderator Regina Smith McKenzie said.

The city attorney’s office wrote the proposal in response to several applications for drilling within city limits. Prior to those applications, there had not been any inquires into drilling within Fort Worth. Similar programs are underway in Denton and Wise counties.

Residents asked questions about safety concerns and compensation to a panel including Mayor Kenneth Barr, several members of the city council, oil and gas company executives, representatives from the Texas Railroad Commission and representatives from local neighborhood associations. There was also a short presentation by Mitchell Energy Company that explained natural gas drilling operations and showed examples of recent drilling in Denton and Wise counties.

Mark Whitley, vice president and general manager of the North Texas region of Mitchell Energy Company said residents may be nervous right now because they do not know much about the process.

Areas most likely to be affected by the new proposal would be new developments, Whitley said, because drilling in existing areas would be a distraction.

Barr said the meeting was designed not to debate the issue, but instead to inform citizens about the processes of oil and natural gas drilling and its effects on a community. The meeting also discussed the importance of the oil and gas industry to Texas.

“As Texans, all of us have seen wells,” Barr said. “Oil and gas drilling is part of our culture and heritage.”

Assistant City Attorney Sarah Fullwider said the proposal is the city’s way of making sure the best interests of all the parties involved are served.

“The way we help protect everybody’s interests is by creating guidelines,” she said. “That is what this proposal will do.”

The purpose of the proposal is to set limits and regulations for the safe use of operations involving oil and natural gas, while protecting the public and utilizing mineral resources.

Fullwider said it is important to remember that the current proposal is just a draft.

“You have to realize this is not the proposal that will likely be adopted,” she said. “The reason we are holding these meetings is so that we can come to some agreement on what needs to be done to meet everyone’s needs.”

The legal department will now take into consideration the questions and concerns raised Monday to aid in writing a final proposal for the city council to consider. The city attorney’s office expects to have the revisions completed by Nov. 13.

Public hearings on the proposed oil and gas ordinance will be held Nov. 20 and Nov. 27 and Dec. 4 if needed, Fullwider said. The times and locations for the hearings have not been decided.

The legal department expects an oil and gas ordinance to be adopted by the city council at its Dec. 4 meeting.

James Zwilling
j.g.zwilling@student.tcu.edu