 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Rev. Keith Belt filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. Church.
The folks involved with the Oil & Gas Museum gathered Saturday at the park at Burning Springs to plan future events, the setting up of a donated standard rig, review of items in the museum, etc.
Cap'n & Mrs. Spock motored to the Strawberry Festival in Buckhannon but found mostly rain.
Muckelwain Logging's (Steve Wayne) loaded truck & trailer broke down on W. Va. 5 just below the county line sometime Friday morning. Deputy Peck got to direct traffic around the derelict vehicle for 3 1/2 hours. The Muckelwains were pioneer settlers in Calhoun County but Steve now or did live in Zanesville.
The state road was in Creston applying herbicide along the roadways. Wirt County is to have a new boss, Mike Dailey, who had been the Ritchie County supervisor while it is reported that the Calhoun supervisor has resigned and is moving to Florida. Jason Nichols, the present Wirt supervisor has been promoted to maintenance assistant for the district.
Barb Wright and Wilma Mowrey were attending to business in Elizabeth.
Local residents were feasting on deep fried locust blossoms.
Peanut Bunche & Dean Miller both put up some nice first cutting hay before the rain.
Little Jebbie Bush has been in the news and he said Common Core was not a federal program and that it would raise standards. In West Virginia Common Core is now understood by many and either the little brother is a blathering idiot or one who "can stretch the truth to fit any occasion". He is often referred to as "Hillary lite" & is the darling of the "elites".
Jenny Belt is scheduled to return to her home at Industry after spending the winter with family in Cleveland.
It was reported that Woody Ireland the delegate that has been promoting the big company forced pooling bill is to "bring the message" to the Greenbrier. The head honcho there, when he was mining coal, just went ahead and mined coal whether it was leased or not so he would be all for the state helping the big boys take minerals away from the state's citizens & taxpayers. Some feel that the forced pooling bill would be the biggest ripoff of minerals since circa 1900 when Mr. Rockefeller decided to pay flat rates for gas wells. The Big Abbott well in Roane County which was the county's largest gas well until the Parker Trenton/Black River well was drilled paid an immense $50 annual gas well stipend to the Abbott heirs.
Columbia Gas has declined to give the size of their proposed pipeline that is to go through the Spring Creek Country and thence to Reedy as well as a map of the route. However, it was learned that it would likely tie into existing Columbia (Nisource) facilities near Catlettsburg, Kentucky. Another new line would come from Trubada station (between Glenville & Sand Fork) and go to Cobb Station near Clendenin in Kanawha County. Instead of exporting all the natural gas one would hope that some would be utilized in West Virginia to make fertilizer, quality glass, etc.
Mrs. Monica Francisco of Hard Rock attended the Rogersville shale meeting in West Liberty Kentucky. The Rogersville is a Cambrian shale found in the Conasuaga formation and is present in the Rome Trough which starts out in Kentucky and goes through north central West Virginia into Pennsylvania to New York. Wirt Roane & Calhoun counties have been determined to have the shale as a result of deep well tests. The best data show that the shale has up to 4% total organic carbon (TOC) compared to the Marcellus which ranges from 2% to 12%. Cimarex Energy drilled a test well in Lawrence County Kentucky which, it was reported that during tests, liquids were hauled off 'round the clock. The well is now shut in and another test well is planned. The company has leased additional acreage including property in W. Va. and EQT has a new well nearby. EQT, it is said, has a well that Ashland drilled many years ago that now has produced over one billion cubic feet of natural gas as a natural. While an employee of Cabot was at the meeting he did not speak but it was reported that their #50 Amherst Rogersville shale well near Hometown in Putnam County was "wet". In addition to Cimarex, a Denver based outfit, EQT, Chesapeake, Cabot, Continental and Hard Rock were those contemplating additional wells in the "new" pay. it was reported that one company purchased some acreage from another firm and paid $3.000 acre for the Rogersville rights.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude is $58.69/bbl. with condensate (super drip) fetching $34.69 with Marcellus & Utica light bringing $52.69 and medium $58.69/bbl.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hur Herald. | 
