A report derived from four years of data in an ongoing five-year study of the effect that natural gas production has on sage grouse in Wyoming’s Pinedale Anticline suggests that liquids gathering systems (LGS) can reduce impacts on the species.

The report “Greater Sage-grouse Winter Habitat Selection Relative to Natural Gas Field Infrastructure in Northern Portions of the Pinedale Anticline Project Area Sublette County, Wyoming” was developed by Wyoming Wildlife Consultants LLC (WWC), Ultra Resources Inc., Shell and Questar Market Resources. Consistent with the 2008 annual report, the 2009 data suggests that sage grouse are avoiding habitats near natural gas development with relatively high levels of activity.

However, the report also corroborates previous findings suggesting that collecting liquids related to natural gas development off-site via a gathering system may reduce the impact of development to sage grouse habitat selection. An LGS, which the operators voluntarily proposed and are implementing on the Anticline, is a system of pipelines that transports condensate and produced water from gas wells to centralized gathering facilities and trunk pipelines rather than using trucks.

“Preliminary data from the study indicates that reducing activity associated with development may reduce the effect of that development on sage grouse,” said Matt Holloran, WWC senior ecologist. “The results also potentially suggest that use of the on-site mitigation already being implemented may benefit management of the species in the future.”

The research suggests that sage grouse are avoiding those portions of the Anticline with active drilling rigs, conventional producing well pads without an LGS and plowed main roads, but on well pads with the LGS there appears to be a reduced effect on sage grouse habitat selection, which may be due to the reduced traffic and human activity associated with these pads, the study found.

This is due to the fact that liquids at conventional pads are contained in storage tanks and must regularly be transported from the area via tanker trucks. On the Pinedale Anticline more than 75,000 truck trips have been eliminated from November 2005 through Dec. 1, 2009 as a result of the liquids gathering system installed by Questar. It is estimated that once the LGS is operational fieldwide it will reduce truck traffic by 165,000 trips per year when the field is at maximum production.

“The latest report further indicates potential benefits to sage grouse from the use of liquids gathering systems which Ultra, Shell and Questar voluntarily proposed and committed to expand across the Anticline,” said Aimee Davison, natural resources advisor for Shell. “Questar’s LGS has been operational since 2005, and both Ultra and Shell are currently installing LGSs on the Pinedale Anticline.”

The WWC study was conducted by WWC and funded by Ultra, Shell and Questar, and the study report is being made available to both the Bureau of Land Management and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. The 2009 progress report is at www.papaoperators.com.

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