James G. Roller, manager corporate development for Chesapeake Energy in Oklahoma City, spoke about increased use of natural gas at a town hall meeting called by State Rep. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw) Thursday. The meeting was held at the Indian Capital Technology Center in Sallisaw, and about 50 people attended.
Linda Copeland • TIMES
State Rep. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw) said he asked James G. Roller, manager corporate development for Chesapeake Energy in Oklahoma City, to make the presentation about natural gas as the fuel for the country’s growth in the future.
Bennett said, “Personally, I am disappointed on our continued dependency on foreign oil I want people to know about compressed natural gas.“
Not only could natural gas fuel the future, Bennett said, but the southern half of Sequoyah County and all of LeFlore County have natural gas fields.
“There is such an abundance of it,” Bennett said, “We have a great opportunity for something to happen here.”
Roller told the crowd that the state has so much natural gas that, “Oklahoma is considered the Saudi Arabia of natural gas,” according to T. Boone Pickens. He added, “We may have as much oil too.”
Roller said Oklahoma has the third largest amount of natural gas in the country.
“We are dependent on others, and we don’t need to be,” he said. “We have natural gas, oil, and coal, so why are we dependent on others? We need to be dependant on ourselves.”
Roller explained how Chesapeake Energy extracts natural gas safely. Rigs are hauled to a natural gas site, and drill for about 30 days, both vertically and horizontally, to get to natural gas, using fracturing. He explained the shafts are protected in a number of ways, using both metal shafts and cement, to protect the ground water and its use as potable water. When drilling is complete, separators are used to remove the natural gas from its surrounding agent, which could be water, salt water, mud, etc.
The separators are the only equipment that remains at the drilling site, he emphasized, and the company returns the site to its previous natural state.
Roller said the company meets all environment requirements set forth by the state and federal government.
He said that the Tulsa-Oklahoma City area “…is the number one energy capitol by a long way,” and pointed out that Oklahoma has a total of 210 operating wells, compared to only 18 in Kansas.
Roller said he hopes to educate the public about the use of natural gas as a fuel, and pointed out that while gasoline is selling for about $3.10 a gallon now, natural gas is selling for $1.85.
Chesapeake Energy has, with the assistance of General Motors, about 5,000 vehicles running on natural gas, Roller said, and the company is planning on adding more. He predicted that, by the end of the year, all three major vehicle manufacturers will have natural-gas fueled vehicles. In the meantime more compressed natural gas stations are also being built. By 2015, natural gas will be marketed as a liquid fuel, he predicted.
Chesapeake Energy is the second largest producer of natural gas in the United States, second only to Exxon Mobile. The company is also the most active driller in the United States, with 164 active rigs.
The company, he said, has put $11 billion in the state economy, and has paid $450 million in royalties and $298 million in state taxes.
“Natural gas opportunities are phenomenal,” he said.
Roller said for more information visit the company’s Web site at www.chesapeake.com. He also suggested that persons who wish to know more about fracturing as a way to extract natural gas may visit fracfocus.org, which lists all new wells, and explains the process, which has been criticized.
