UPDATE: At the Oakland Township Board meeting tonight (June 23, 2015) Treasurer Langlois properly corrected me. In looking at the ‘respectmyplanet.org’ website, I had missed that there are two oil wells IN Oakland Township. I had missed seeing them. They were missed among the many ‘dry hole’ well locations that are shown in video below. The two oil wells are just north of the Myth Golf Club and Banquet facility on Stoney Creek Road. They appear to be located in a secluded portion of the Township. Thank you Jeanne for the correction!
Richard Michalski
The attached video shows the various wells that are located in our region and our Township. The source of the information is respectmyplanet.org website.
It is a short video. It includes an aerial view of the closest oil well site to Oakland Township (see update statement above). It is located in Addison Township, very close to Lakeville Lake. There are two wells at this location. They appear to have started production in 1970’s per the records on the website. One of the wells appears to have been converted to a ‘brine well’ in 2008.
The video gives a perspective on what an oil production facility could look like after years of operation.
If any of you want to learn how to search for information on various wells in Michigan, please go to the following YouTube website. Please note that only wells that have had the drilling approved are shown. Lease agreements, like the two Oakland Township sites recently reported on this website, are not shown.
How to search for well site information in Michigan
Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township? The current records indicate that there are not many oil or gas wells in Oakland Township. In fact, many of them are categorized as ‘dry holes’. With new production techniques, these wells could become viable, especially if the price of oil goes up in the future. Our country’s desire for energy independence will continue to place pressures on discovering new sources for gas and oil.
Oakland Township appears to have an opportunity to implement a brief moratorium on drilling, like Rochester Hills and Shelby Township have done, to allow our Township to implement ordinances that could prevent the type of operation that exists in Addison Township near critical Oakland Township resources or residential properties.
The Oakland Township Board should ask the Supervisor of Addison Township for an opportunity to visit the Lakeville oil well site to get an appreciation for what may be in store for our community.
Please come to the June 23rd Board meeting to learn more about what Oakland Township will be doing to protect our community. Here is a copy of the agenda:
Richard Michalski
Oakland Township Watchers 