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Drilling boom leaves homeowners powerless
HENDERSON — For homeowners Beth and Michael Hieronimus, a wooden yard stake with orange flags soon could mark the end to their quiet country living on FM 225.
“The surveyors came out here and marked that spot,” Beth Hieronimus said as she pointed in the direction of the stake near a sprawling vegetable garden she and her husband harvest to sell squash, tomatoes and cantaloupe at area farmers markets.
“They said they were going to come back and tell us if they were going to drill, but they haven’t.”
Hieronimus said an oil company expressed intent to drill less than 200 feet from her home, threatening to take out the family’s garden. It will change the family’s way of life, she said, including their son, T.J., who is autistic and does not respond well to loud noises.
No drilling permits for that site have been filed with the Texas Railroad Commission.
Dirk M. Van Doren, chief financial officer of Oklahoma City-based SandRidge Energy, said Texas’ various gas shales have lured the company to the area.
Company officials announced Monday the intended sale of its East Texas and North Louisiana assets. Van Doren could not recall whether the company still would drill on the Hieronimus property, or if another company had expressed interest in drilling there. He said drilling will continue in East Texas while the company seeks a buyer.
What do you think?
Comments
By MM
July 16, 2008 5:21 PM | Link to this
mntx, your post sound like it’s very easy to buy minteral rights. It’s not. Very few people will sew, and most homeowners have no idea who owns the mineral rights on there property.
By mntx
July 16, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this
Everyone in East Texas should know you ALWAYS research and if possible buy the mineral rights when you purchase property. There is no mystery on these deeds. If she had purchased the mineral rights, she could retire well off the residual income.