[Coco] Amazing!

[Gene Heskett]

On Sunday 31 August 2008, Kevin Diggs wrote:
>Chuck Youse wrote:
>> Hmm, I think we've drifted off topic.  I think I'm going to help Gene
>> with that new renewable energy idea of his.
>
>Since Gene opened this can of worms, anyone have any comments on this
>T. Boone Pickens and his energy plan? How much natural gas do we have?
>
I am with Pickens, we need non-carbon based energy sources, be they solar or 
wind, I'm not at all picky.

In re natural gas, I'll go out on a long persimmon limb and say that we have 
at least 500 years worth yet.  But its deeper than most exploration 
financiers want to take a chance on.  I'm reminded of a gambler in Oklahoma, 
who on his own dimes, drilled a hole just short of 50,000 feet deep when it 
came in, at a cost of several dozens of millions of dollars at 20 year ago's 
prices when he did it.  But it only took them a few hours to get it capped 
and hooked up to the pipelines.  That well may still be producing for all I 
know, but when it was hooked up, that hole paid for itself in 3 days!  Here 
in WV we have gas in almost every front yard, and while I haven't heard 
any 'official' statistics, I've been told the average hole is less than 3k 
feet and 7k feet is about as far as they have drilled.  Some of the water 
wells have enough gas in the water they have to run it into a standpipe or 
high tank & let it vent for a few hours before it could be called potable 
water.  So the gas is down there, all we need to do is drill.

With the current high energy prices, gas exploration is back in high gear 
here, with well rigs at work in higher numbers than anytime in the last 30 
years.  One local machine shop, a father son setup, was building about a rig 
a year 10 years ago & rebuilding maybe 1 more, has scratch built 3 so far 
this year and is booked solid for at least the next 3 years.  The 
father "Doc" is now 78 and was somewhat insulted when I asked him when he was 
going to retire last spring, saying he wasn't old enough yet.

I do know that if there is a bluegrass jam session, Doc will be there, and 
someone will be nearby with a fire extinguisher, cuz Doc can start a fire on 
his Mandolin's fret board.  He has sat in with Flatt & Scruggs back in their 
day, and more recently with Ricky Skaggs, the best living picker of our time.  
He truly can 'make a joyful noise', and did so in my back porch for several 
hours one summer evening about 6 years ago.  I felt blessed, as did the 
neighbors who came walking in with their own lawn chairs.

-- 
Cheers, Gene
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