Today we received three photographs from the oil production site on the Rolfsrud homestead near Keene. Our man on the scene, Cousin Harold, often is a man of few words. These digital photos arrived in our email box without explanation, other than it was the flare at the Rolfsrud oil well. (Click to enlarge them, they're well done, thank you Harold.)Until we can fill in the blanks, enjoy these photos of the well head and surrounding country. The drilling rigs have moved on to other fields and we can only guess what comes next. The huge brilliant flare is burning off natural gas, which is a byproduct of the drilling process, and yes, is a waste, but there is nothing done about it until pipes can capture the resource. (Review what Harold had to say about this in the oil movie at left.)
As to the productivity of the well itself, this is typically an oil company secret until the state requires information for its tax and royalty purposes, usually six months after production begins, whenever that will be.
We don't know how much natural pressure there is here or if and when a pump will appear on the site. We note some sizeable storage tanks in the photo below that don't appear to be for soybeans. Perhaps someone will call.
