Berry Petroleum Observes Protests Back to Blog
Landowner protests in Gardendale, Texas, which lies in the oil rich historical Permian Basin, is unusual primarily for its location. That makes it an unlikely site of anti-fracking protests. About 15 residents in the town, population 1,574, are waging an anti-drilling crusade against Berry Petroleum. They have tried to turn Gardendale into an “official municipality,” which would give them more control over gas exploration and production near their homes. They launched a website to chronicle Berry’s alleged misdeeds, and a YouTube channel with short “Berry Tales” videos. They have, if nothing else, painted a drilling trailer which they playfully call the “Gardenhell scar” and dumped it near a group of oil storage tanks. Many Gardendale residents say they aren’t against drilling, just against Berry’s manner of drilling, which involves fracking — the technique in which water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to break up hydrocarbon-rich rock formations. The reasons for their complaining about Berry’s development plan resemble the complaints of landowners in Pennsylvania and other areas where shale drilling has taken hold. Not much serious public attention is expected of these protests, other than by Berry Petroleum itself.