GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Energy companies in Colorado are increasingly turning to directional drilling, a technique that reduces environmental damage and simplifies land-use negotiations by using a single site to sink multiple wells.
Nearly 57 percent of the state drilling permits issued through early December were for directional drilling, compared with 47 percent last year and 41 percent in 2005.
“From a landowner and environmental point of view, it decreases the surface impact,” said Doug Hock, a spokesman for EnCana Oil & Gas (USA).
Hock said directional drilling also allows Encana to access oil or gas beneath several parcels without negotiating surface agreements with the surface owners of each one.
He said Encana can drill up to 28 wells from a single pad using directional drilling.
