ECTOR COUNTY, Texas — The Permian Basin is the destination for all things oil and gas. Places to drill in West Texas are not scarce, and while there is plenty of space to set up a new well, some oil companies are striving to reach places previously untapped.
One of those places being the Ector County Cemetery.
"Basically, to allow somebody to access the mineral rights underneath the cemetery we own," Ector County Commissioner of Precinct 2 Greg Simmons said.
The request to drill under the Ector County Cemetery was made by David H. Arrington Oil Company, LLC., which caused much of a debate for the commissioners. The big concern being whether or not drilling would disturb the grounds of the cemetery. Ultimately, the commissioners court approved the operation.
“Because of things like the cemetery and the airport, we would not ever allow anyone to drill on that," Commissioner Simmons said. "But now with the ability of horizontal drilling where they can drill from far away and actually just run a pipeline to that it’s become to the point where it is feasible now for people to access those minerals underneath.”
Horizontal drilling is a technological advancement that has been on the rise in the Permian Basin. It occurs thousands of feet below the ground so any threat to structures above ground is minimal to none. This means people can extract previously unreachable natural resources and leave the departed loved ones resting easy.
“Now you can have a drill site located up to a mile away and they just horizontally drill underground so you’re never having to be on top of the property that you’re actually accessing the minerals for," Commissioner Simmons said.
Commissioner Simmons was firm in there being no disturbance to the cemetery and with the approval Tuesday, drilling can begin as soon as the week of March 4 once all parties sign the necessary paperwork.
There was also a request submitted to drill underneath the airport, but that was put on hold so the court could get with outside legal help to make that decision.