Health, Safety & Environment

Colorado Oil Regulator Rejects Occidental’s Plan to Drill Near Homes

the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission voted 4-1 to reject Occidental Petroleum’s proposed plan to drill new oil and gas wells in Firestone, Colorado.

Liz Hampton, Reuters

Sun, 03/13/2022 - 03:35 PM

The U.S. state of Colorado’s oil regulator this week rejected a request by Occidental Petroleum Corp. to drill new oil and gas wells roughly 800 ft (244 m) away from homes, in a test of a new rule that sets a wide berth between drilling activity and residential areas.

The proposed site in Firestone, Colorado, was near where natural gas leaked from a pipeline owned by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in 2017 and triggered an explosion that killed two people. Occidental acquired Anadarko in 2019.

Colorado in 2020 imposed a rule that requires new oil and gas wells be no closer than 2,000 ft (610 m) from residential areas and other buildings. The rule allows for companies to seek exemptions.

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