1. BAY AREAOBSERVER -SEABROOK
Seabrook city council onTuesday voted 5-0-1, withLaura Davis recusedfrom voting, togrant a permit to Petro Vest, Inc. to drill andoperatea
gas and oilwelllocated within a 10.5acretractofland intheSeabrookIsland subdivision.
The property is locatedat3401Bayport Boulevard.
City Hall was filled with concerned citizens, mostofwhom own homes withintheSeabrook Islandsubdivision. Apublichearing was heldprior
to consideration oftheitem, and a totalof11 speakers voiced their opposition to thepermit.
A representatives from Petro Vest,Inc., operations manager and spoksman MikeMcClure gavea detailed presentation regarding their rights
concerning theproperty, environmentaland safetypolicies for drilling the well.
City ordinance section60prohibits drilling for oil within1500 feetofa residentialarea butincludes an exception ifall residents withinthatarea
give their written consent.
The City of Seabrook originally issueda drilling permit for the site in 1965. In1996,Phil Newton,thedeveloperofthe Seabrook Island
subdivision,entered into an agreement withTaylor LakeHoldings, owners oftheland,to allowdrilling onthesite.
Mr. McClure of Petro Vest, Inc. began thepresentation by stating somefacts about the proposedsitestating;
“There was a drill tractof10.8Acres which was later reduced to10.5 Acres inthesoutheastcornerand itwas designated by judicialhearing
and judgment that the two acres tractmidway onthesouthperimeter was cancelled and theeasement toCitywas cancelled and a mineral
subdivision was grantedto mineralowners and operators for a drilltractof10.5 acres. Andthis is the final order, finaljudgmentofthe railroad
commission of thestateofTexas and itspecifically designates this 10.5Acres as a drill tract for the purpose ofdrilling oiland gas wells
producing oil andgas on that10.5acres andall other uses connected with oilandgas production.
That was surveyed andthis judgment was filed in Harris county. It was madea partofthesubdivisionplans which weresubmitted by Taylor
Lake holding for thesubdivision. It was approved by the Seabrook city council and was sodesignatedon themaps oftheCity ofSeabrook
website. Wehavebeencompletely transparent in ourapplication, wehavesubmitted all ofthe agreements,all ofthecorings,all ofthe
designations,of this 10.5acres as a drilling tract and weopenedour files anddivulged completelyto thecity the complete confidenceofthe
contractand it’s in the hands ofyour council. We comeas neighbors, we’vebeenhere a long time,we’vebeen operating it for a long time.
There’s never beena spillor a fireor complaint ofodious smells or anything else. These10.5 Acres has plenty ofarea to buffer any sound or
sight and weintendto beautify this acreageand toclean itup and make itas park-likeas possible.”
He went on to say, “ Wehavenothing to hide. Thearea around the firstwell,theonethatwas drilled in1965produced for a time. Thearea
around it has beencoredmany times. There is noenvironmentalproblem orcomplaints ofany kind.On this 10.5acres 250core s havebeen
taken before the subdivision was built and the 10.5acres was designated for oil andgas industry”.
Seabrook citizens KellySoich, O.J. Miller,Flo Ligon, Bill Steven,Mark Peters,Andy Thacker,RobertPoston,KimJernigan, Tama Colbertmaschino,
Earl Ligon, andSally Antrobus all spoke in opposition ofapproving a drilling permit. Among them wereconcerns ofenvironmentaland noise
pollution, safetyissues andproperty valuation.Among the most troubling werethepossibility ofradiation or other airborne pollutants being
released into the atmosphere during thedrilling process.
Mike McClure,whois recognizedby theStateofTexas as a HealthPhysicist(for RadiationLicenseLO 4669), stated thattests haveshown there
is no radioactivity at the drill site.He addedthat Petro Vest, Inc. has theinstrumentation and knowledge needed tomonitor for radioactive
materials on thedrillsite and for airborneparticulates and there has beenno plume ofcontamination or evidenceofhydrocarbons on site. He
statedthat the drill site was inplace beforehomes werebuiltin thearea, and that as a commercialoperationas proposed itcan becomean
assetand willnot devaluetheproperty. He reiterated thattherewereno hydrocarbons on the site.
When askedabouta worst-casescenario, MikeMcClureresponded, “The worst casescenariois a tankruptureand the contents spilling andfor
that to escapeinto thewaterways or intosomeone’s backyard.However the primary berm surrounding the stock tanks is capable ofholding all
of the capacity ofall ofthestorage tanks.The secondary bermwill keepmany acres ofany overspillthatmay occur”.
The projectwill work in four phases:

2. Phase I willinvolve the drill site preparation, whichwill occur in daylight hours only.This will include pipelinesafetyissues,theinstallation of
“Dura Mats”to ensuretruck-driving safetyby preventing slippage for safemobilization. It willalso ensurepersonnel safety, and dampen noise.
Petro Vest, Inc. stated in their presentationthat all wellequipmentwill benew, pressure ratedand within industry standard safetyguidelines,
that there is nohigh pressure andthat allformations havebeen tested tobe normalpressure.
There will beno hydraulic fracturing and thereis nohydrogen sulfideor other poisonous gas producing formations.
Mike McClure,operations managerfor PetroVest, Inc. alsonotedthat there willbeno alcoholic beverages orillegaldrugs ofany kind allowed
on the site. Noise abatement installations will also beinstalledduring phase1 witha 10-foothigh acousticalnoise barrier paneland 30’ high
sound andsight barrier aroundtheperimeter ofthepad
Phase II will involvedrilling activities andwill require work to bedone24 hours a day untilcompletion.
McClure saidit would benecessaryto restricttraffic inand outofthesiteto authorizedpersonnelonly. Aguard willbelocated attheentrance
to the siteto coordinateaccess to thesitearound theclock,on 6-hour shifts. PetroVest,Inc.will requestpermission fromtheSeabrook Police
Department to employ offduty policemen toguard the entrance/exit gate. Trucks will beleaving thesitewith drillcuttings, for instance, and
police officers training andexperience will providefinal inspection ofthetrucks as a precaution sothatunclean transports will stay off
Seabrook’s roadways.
Only highly trained, pre-approved personnelwill beallowed access tolocation during PhaseII. It is estimated that PhaseII willtake13 days to
rig down, or completedrilling.
Completionof the well willoccur during PhaseIII indaylighthours only. PetroVest,Inc.has prepared a sitespecificspill prevention,
containment andcontrol plan during this phase. As in PhaseI, Petro Vest, Inc. has again assured thatall wellequipment willbe new,pressure
rated and within industry standard safetyguidelines,that there is nohighpressureandthatall formations havebeentestedto benormal
pressure.Therewillbe nohydraulic fracturing andthereis no hydrogen sulfideor other poisonous gas producing formations. Thetime
expected tocomplete and test during phaseIII is estimated tobe finished within5 days. The noiseand sightbarrier will beleft inplace while all
completionwork is conducted.
Hook-up and productionwill occur during Phase IV,which is the final step intheproject.
A 4 foot berm willbe installed to completely encircletheoperating site,preventing escapeofany produced fluids ontosurrounding property. A
6 foot chain linkfence with“forest green” privacy shade will beinstalledaround theoperating site. Foliage, suchas oleander and/orpine trees
will be planted insidetheperimeter ofthewooden fenceand allweeds and undesirabletrees andshrubbery willbe excavated and the grounds
seededin coastal Bermuda grass.
Mr. McClure stated that they aregoing to givethe property a “park-like” setting. Hesaid,“the City ofSeabrook and the citizens have an
opportunity toget an improvement”.
Along with approvalofthepermit the city ofSeabrook imposed,these aretheconditions which PetroVest,Inc.must follow:
• Preparation ofthedrillsitewill only beperformed during daylight hours
• Specialtraction mats will beused(Dura Mats) for truck traffic stability on load bearing services. Thesespecial mats willberemoved after
drilling as depicted inits presentation.
• No mud pits onsite.
• No high pressure, no hydraulic fracturing, nochemicalinjection, no hydrogensulfide release.
• Pump/generator willbe positionedon ground andnotrig floor to helpprevent noiseand relatedissues.
• 10 Foot acousticalnoisebarrier panels will beusedduring drilling. These barriers willbe ratedto at leaststc-30, withperformancepanelof
double baffling design for insulation/sound absorption.
• 30 Foot sight and sound barriers around padperimeter.
• Use of a SpencerHarris 7000 drilling rig or equivalentsubstituteas determined bycity. Derricknot toexceeda total height of120 feet.
• Will useprivatesecurity protection at ingress/egress points to thesiteduring PhaseII drilling.
• Absolutely noalcoholor illegaldrugs/usewill betolerated onworksite –compliancetesting required.
• A4 foot berm willbe constructed tocompletely encirclesitefor preventionofescapeofproducedfluids.
• 6 Foot chain link fence, withprivacy inserts to beerected around entireoperating site.
• Foliage –oleanders,trees willbe plantedinsideperimeter ofwoodenfence.

3. • Site willbe cleaned up,with additionofseededcostalgrass. Petro Vest, Inc. willbe directlyresponsiblefor maintaining site,including
vegetation, in full compliancewith codeoftheCity ofSeabrook,noting that ithas nocontrol ofpipeline/powerline rightofway.
• Operatormust demonstrateadequateaccess for emergency personnel/equipmentas determinedby thechiefofpolice.
• Map to be submittedshowing proposed transportation routes andlocation offirehydrants.
• Emergency action responseplan/procedures toaddress any hazard resulting from operation. This would beamplifiedto includeguidelines of
RRC, TCEQ, DOT, EPA, and includepreliminary risk management assessment, preliminary hazard mitigation plan. This shall include the name,
address anda phonenumber thatis answeredon a twenty-four-hour basis ofthe personto benotifiedin caseofan emergency. Spill
prevention andmaintenance plan tobe onsiteatall times. This emergency planshall specifically includea firstresponders plan for address of
emergency situations.
• Incidentreport to beprovidedto city manager, within 24hours, for allwells drilled by operator.
• Entire tract shall bemaintained pursuantto city codeand applicantshallbe responsiblefor removing debris and mowing grass as provided
therein within90 days ofcouncilapproval –5/3/11.
• City will enforceall nuisance provisions ofits code ofordinances, specifically including those relating to noise,debris andlighting.
• Petro Vest, Inc. understands, agrees and stipulates thatany misrepresentation,failureto perform, or otherwise complywiththe
representations inits applications orin its presentation tothecity ofSeabrook, or violation oftheconditions hereinor Seabrook code,may
cause revocationofthe drilling permitpursuant tosection60-6(b).
According to MikeMcClurethe conditions set out by Petro Vest,Inc. and required by Seabrook City Councilwillcost an additional $300,000 to
Petro vest, Inc.
McClure, anticipates a 4 month preparation periodto finalizeplans before the onground work begins.Oncethat process is finished, there will
be a walk thoughinspection andoperations willbegin. Ifhowever, they hita drywell,andfindthat the site will notbeproductive,they must
remove everything including storage tanks withina 6month period.
When askedaboutlocalinvolvement,MikeMcCluretold the Bay Area Observer that PetroVest,Inc.intends to contribute tothelocal economy
by using localbusinesses as much as possible. “We’lluse Seabrook plumbers, electricians, and other local contractors whenever wecan,”
McClure said. Healso stated that they make regularcontributions to theSeabrook VolunteerFireDepartment.