County Gas Map Proposal

My June 1 post, "Mapping County Gas Data", asked a simple question : why can't we use Google Maps to create an adequate county gas data GIS capability quickly and inexpensively?

The question remains unanswered; but, maybe I wasn't very clear about what constitutes quick, doable and adequate.

So, I'll explain more and demonstrate some features of a proposed capability that can be obtained at No Cost to Low Cost to the county. It also will allow citizens and county agencies to access accurate map based information on permitted and producing gas wells, pipelines, and other data at no cost.

Really - "No Cost" ?? "Low Cost" ?? Well, Yes, really !

But it does depend on what we demand in terms of accuracy, currency and completeness, and ownership of the data. I'll discuss these items later; first, here is the No-Low Cost proposal.

No cost is simple. Use what already exists and is widely available on the Internet. Low cost means augmenting an existing capability with more data. Both capability levels are based on use of a Google Map Application with all the built-in features of Google maps provided free by Google, including tutorials on how to add features to one's own map application.

There is an existing application developed by a self-proclaimed technology geek who enjoys real-time mapping applications. You can visit his website at Susquehanna County - Gas Exploration Maps to examine different features and map scales. His maps cover Susquehanna County and several adjacent counties in PA and NY. They provide data on permitted and producing wells, major pipelines and compression stations. He updates them monthly or semi-monthly. They are reasonably complete and accurate.

Simply using this application is the No Cost option. The county should publicise it on a county website so people would know where to find it.

For the Low Cost option, the county could deal with this individual to get more information in his data base or to be allowed to maintain a comparable version of his application which the county would update and extend. An obvious extension would be to add small well gathering pipelines and well access roads based on data from the gas companies. If this data were provided in simple GPS coordinates, it would be easy to include in the Google map application.

There you have it - a basic Gas Data Map capability at No to Low Cost with easy Internet access.

Let's demonstrate the "No Cost" option by some Google Map screen shots, starting with this one, County Gas Map 1, that show the county and gas industry information. The Blue east-west line is the Tennessee Gas Pipeline; red balloons are the locations of permitted gas wells; green balloons locate producing well locations; newly permitted pipelines are shown as blue flags; other icons locate other gas activities.

The second screen shot, County Gas Map 2, zooms to a smaller scale map to show the wells in relation to local roads. We can reduce the scale more and get closer by sliding the Google map scale indicator in the + direction. At this scale we can see a red triangle that depicts the location of a gas compression station.

Clicking the mouse on any symbol, e.g.. a green balloon, causes an info bubble to pop-up with descriptive information on well ID, production or other data.The pop-up for the green balloon directly above the red triangle states it is the Teel 5 well by Cabot, facility ID 700047, the first production well in NE PA. The pop-up bubble for the balloon to the right of it identifies it as Black 2H well by Cabot, Facility ID 706268, which produced 8.3Mmcf/d with a 4 stage frac on 3-3-09.

The information inside an information bubble is whatever the map developer wants to put there. In addition, each bubble has a Google feature that allows you to enter your current location and get a route map and driving directions from your location to the well (bubble)location. Since this is a Google Map application, all the Google map features are available. We could shift from the standard map format, shown above, to one that overlays the data on a terrain map or on satellite imagery. Of course, the satellite imagery would only show features present when the image was taken, such as trees, fields, ponds, and buildings.

So, now lets discuss those mapping performance terms and what they imply for costs to enhance the existing gas data map application.

Accuracy means how precisely the gas location data is measured and plotted on the map. If we demand survey level accuracy, the map capability will be costly and take a while to create. If we can live with accuracy equal to a standard GPS - based automobile or handheld navigation system, we can have a capability fast and at no cost to low cost. I believe that level of accuracy is adequate.

Currency means how timely the plotted data is; for example, if a new well permit is issued, do we want it to be plotted and the map updated within a day? or a week? or would a month be timely enough? Completeness means how much new data is captured and plotted on a timely basis; must it be 100% or is 80-90% enough? Since we have nothing now, I suggest that getting "most" data updated on the map one or twice a month is adequate.

Going from "most" to all or almost all takes us from No to Low Cost or more; going from once or twice a month to daily has the same effect.

Ownership of the data means who has control of the data base and the mapping application. If we demand that the county own it all, it will cost money and employee time. If we are willing to use a product owned and maintained by a third party, then our cost is none to low, depending on what we require of the third party in terms of currency, completeness and assured accessibility to the map application.

Bottom Line - I propose that the county use the above existing application "as is" for an immediate no cost capability. Publicize this on a county website for citizen access.

To gain more capability, define what additional information is needed and conduct two negotiations. First, negotiate with the application developer to add more information in a timely fashion either by him or by a partnering arrangement with the county, possibly by maintaining a county version. Second, negotiate with the gas companies to get timely access road and pipeline data in a format for easy entry into the map application.

Update - I should also reference this other primary source of information on Gas Wells in Susquehanna County PA. The main website is at RLSTORE.COM . It has considerable data on current well activity and maps of well sites. Although the maps lack the scaling and manipulation features of a Google Map application, the data is updated frequently and is available for an $18 annual subscription.