Back in 2014, this corner of northern New Mexico made international headlines when NASA researchers discovered a persistent methane plume the size of Delaware. Two years later, they pinned one of the main sources of this methane “hot spot” to natural gas wells, pipelines, storage tanks, and processing plants in the San Juan Basin. A second peer-reviewed study last year confirmed those findings.

On Friday, state regulators were scheduled to hear Hilcorp’s request to amend the state’s well spacing regulations, which would have allowed the company to drill more wells or target different formations than the rules currently allow.

“The effect of that would be that rather than having a public hearing process where each of those items is heard, that entire process would be done away with and it would only require the local Oil Conservation Division official,” said Don Schreiber, a rancher who lives in the San Juan Basin and had opposed the rule change. “His name is Charlie Perrin and the oil company could just walk in and say ‘Charlie, we want to drill some wells or recomplete some wells and just sign right here.’”

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