WorldWide Drilling Resource

Florida’s Decision on Everglades Oil Well Coming Quickly Compiled by the Editorial Staff of WorldWide Drilling Resource ® The Kanter family, a South Florida family with wealth established from real estate, has asked the state for permission to drill a single exploratory oil well in the Everglades, six miles west of Miramar in southwest Broward county and as far east as the search for crude in the Everglades has ever stretched. The initial plans to do an exploratory drill and hopefully add to the handful of oil fields operating in South Florida generated a firestorm last year, but the Kanters have pushed forward. The family recently provided detailed answers to questions from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding the applications submitted for permission to construct an oil well. The Kanter company filed hundreds of pages of documentation to the DEP in response to its request for specifics on erection plans, safety measures, and pipe and equipment standards. The DEP also wanted to know what is being proposed to minimize impact to the wetlands, monitor water quality, and protect wildlife. The company was required to outline its plan for a potential release of hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous gas sometimes released by oil drilling. Similar applications have been put in with the South Florida Water Management District, as well as the Army Corps of Engineers and are pending review also. Since any proposed drilling operation would occur on a habitat for endangered species (including Florida panthers, Everglades snail kites, Cape Sable seaside sparrows, and wood storks), and could generate countless gallons of wastewater, federal permits may also be required. The current batch of applications are for an exploratory well only, meaning if sufficient oil is found to make recovery worthwhile financially, the family would have to undergo another thorough round of paperwork for permission to extract and ship the oil. “As second generation Floridians and owners of this property for over 50 years, we are excited about the opportunities this land and these resources will provide for Florida,” John Kanter, president of Kanter Investments Inc. said in a statement. “I would tell you at this preliminary stage we are involved in the rigorous permitting process to address all comments and concerns of the Florida Department of Environment Protection,” he said. “We are focusing all of our efforts on acting responsibly in accordance with the law, while protecting our water supply and the environment.” The family patriarch, John Kanter, acquired the 20,000-acre spread more than 50 years ago with the unrealized dream of building a new town on it. Now, the family hopes to pursue different avenues on the land. According to the application, the drilling operation would be contained on five acres. The well would be a standard vertical well which could go to nearly 12,000 feet deep and is intended to tap into the vast Sunniland trend, a formation reported by the U.S. Geological Survey to extend across all of South Florida and west into the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to searching for oil, exploratory drilling could be used to search for quality limestone. Mining operations could also potentially provide more storage for water. 48 OCTOBER 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®