In New Mexico, storm gathers over Texas firm’s hopes for oil find

…After all, this hilly swath of high desert about 20 miles south of artsy, touristy Santa Fe has never been oil-and-gas country: That distinction belongs to the pumpjack-dotted landscape of the faraway southeastern and northwestern corners of New Mexico.

Over the past couple of years, however, a Texas company has quietly leased the mineral rights to some 65,000 acres in the Galisteo Basin.


Tecton Energy of Houston believes there may be as much as 50 to 100 million barrels of highly prized light, sweet crude oil tucked in the nooks and crannies of the rocks that underlie the basin.

If that proves true, it could mean three decades of drilling and several hundred wells, according to Tecton’s CEO, Bill Dirks.

“If oil hadn’t gone up to $100 a barrel it wouldn’t be an issue today,” said Marianne Sacknoff, who lives on 61 acres just down the rutted dirt road from Sugarman and Ziegler. She found out about Tecton’s plans for her land when she bumped into surveyors on her property.

AP