by Mark Gimenez
‘Take a load off.’
He circled the desk and dropped into a leather chair that resembled a throne. They sat in the visitors’ chairs. The office featured wood and leather and the aroma of cigars. A tall bookshelf behind Billy Bob held more Aggie memorabilia, signed footballs and framed photographs of Billy Bob with coaches and the governor of Texas, a former yell leader himself. On the wall opposite the desk hung a huge flat screen television; on the side wall were large maps of Texas, the U.S., and the world. The desktop was clean except for a copy of The Times of Marfa with Book’s photo on the front page, a remote control, and a Western-style handgun sitting atop a thick stack of papers. Billy Bob swiveled in his chair, reached into a cigar box on the shelf, and removed a long cigar. He held it out to Book, but Book shook his head. Billy Bob clamped his teeth around the cigar.
‘I hate Commies, but the Cubans do make good cigars.’
He picked up the handgun, pointed the barrel at Book, and pulled the trigger. A flame shot out the barrel.
‘Lighter.’
He moved the flame to the end of the cigar, but Book’s intern stopped him cold.
‘No!’
Billy Bob looked at her. ‘What?’
‘I have allergies.’
Billy Bob studied her a moment then released the trigger of the handgun-lighter. The flame disappeared. He replaced the lighter on the stack of papers. His gaze returned to Nadine, as if expecting a show of appreciation for his chivalry. But all he got was, ‘Thanks.’ Book decided to use the moment to begin his cross-examination of Billy Bob Barnett.
‘Mr. Barnett, are your fracking operations contaminating the groundwater?’
Some lawyers believe that aggressive rapid-fire questioning is the most effective form of cross. Perhaps it is in a courtroom where the witness knows he is the target. But outside a court-room, when you’re still stalking the target, when the witness does not yet know he is the target—when you’re not even sure he is the target—such questioning is not effective. The witness simply refuses to answer your questions; and there is no judge to force an answer.
Book wanted answers from Billy Bob Barnett.
So he opted for a different technique. One that encouraged the witness to talk—about himself, his work, and his life. That technique required a provocative opening inquiry and a certain amount of patience. Most people want to convince you that they’re good, that their work is important, that their lives are relevant. If given the opportunity, they will talk. And if their favorite topic of conversation happens to be the person they see in the mirror—and Billy Bob Barnett seemed that type of man—they will talk a lot. Reveal a lot. Perhaps even incriminate themselves. Book felt certain that the man sitting across the desk had much to offer in the way of self-incrimination.
Billy Bob’s eyes slowly came off Nadine and onto Book; he held his expression a moment then broke into a hearty laugh.
‘Well, good morning to you, too, Professor. Damn, you sure don’t waste any time with small talk, do you? Hell, and I was gonna try and recruit you away from UT for our new A&M law school. Professor of your stature, just what we need to get it off the ground. Five years from now, our law school will be better than yours.’
Only a hundred miles separates the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University at College Station, but the two schools have been bitter archrivals for over a hundred years. Both enroll fifty thousand students, but the student bodies resemble the national political parties: UT is liberal, green, anti-war, and Democrat; A&M is conservative, oil and gas, the corps, and Republican. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum stands on the UT campus; the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library stands on the A&M campus. The schools have competed in putting prominent politicians, business leaders, scientists, military officers, academics, artists, actors, and athletes into the world—but never lawyers. Because A&M had no law school. Until now. The A&M alumni had finally gotten their law school, and they were determined to fund it to whatever extent necessary to top UT. Billy Bob jabbed the unlit cigar in the air.
‘And we’re sure as hell not gonna hire a bunch of goddamn left-wing professors from Harvard and Yale, I guarandamntee you.’
‘Not enough jobs for law grads as it is, might not be the best time to start a new law school.’
‘Not to worry, Professor. Aggies take care of each other. We’re akin to a cult, like Mormons without the extra wives. We’ll make damn sure every graduate gets a job. And Mr. Barnett was my daddy. I’m just Billy Bob.’
‘Billy Bob. Same question. Are your fracking—’
‘Hydraulic fracturing,’ he said, carefully pronouncing each syllable as if he were a kindergartner sounding out the words. ‘We don’t say “fracking.” Myself, I prefer “hydraulic stimulation.”’
‘Why not fracking?’
‘Stimulation sounds fun; not so much fracking. And some sci-fi movie used it like the F-word, to mean sex. Environmentalists picked up on it, plastered it on T-shirts, billboards, bumper stickers. “Frack Me” … “Frack You” … “Frack Off” … “Frack This” … “Frack That” …’
Nadine giggled.
‘It ain’t funny,’ Billy Bob said.
‘It’s pretty funny.’
Billy Bob bit down on the cigar, leaned back in his throne, crossed his thick arms, and studied Nadine Honeywell a long uncomfortable moment. He removed the cigar.
‘You want a job, Honeywell?’
‘I want to be a chef.’
‘The hell you doing in law school?’
‘My dad wants me to be a lawyer.’
Billy Bob nodded. ‘My dad wanted me to be a lawyer, too. Respectable. Instead, I’m rich. Course, I wouldn’t have been a good lawyer, never was much for book work. So I went to A&M.’
‘Was he mad when you didn’t go to law school?’
Billy Bob grinned. ‘Fit to be tied.’
‘Did he ever forgive you?’
‘He died.’
That thought lingered like cigar smoke until Book broke the silence.
‘Billy Bob, is your hydraulic stimulation contaminating the groundwater?’
Billy Bob snapped back to the moment. ‘Hell, no. The Energy Institute at your own UT confirmed that, said there’s no direct connection between hydraulic stimulation and ground water contamination.’
‘Well, that might be so, but your own lawyer said otherwise.’
‘The hell you talking about?’
Book pulled out Nathan’s letter and slid it across the desk. Billy Bob examined the envelope then removed and read the letter. He sniffled and breathed through his mouth. He finally looked up with a frown.
‘Aren’t lawyers supposed to be loyal to their clients?’
‘Some lawyers have consciences.’
‘Not the ones I hire.’
The frown left, and he sighed.
‘Nathan was a good boy and a good lawyer. Smart and dependable. Cute gal for a wife. What’s her name?’
‘Brenda.’
‘Yeah, Brenda.’ He shook his head. ‘His kid’s gonna grow up without a dad.’
‘Was Nathan your primary lawyer?’
‘Here in Marfa. Tom Dunn—you met him, I heard—he’s my main lawyer. Nathan handled my day-to-day matters down here—lawsuits, leases, permits, contracts, that sort of thing. He was a hard-working lawyer. I liked him. Real sorry he died. Terrible accident. I told him to slow down—’
‘He drove fast?’
‘This is West Texas. Everyone drives fast. But I don’t have a clue what he’s talking about in this letter, Professor. I’m a fracker’—he grimaced—‘a stimulator and damn proud of it. I’m saving America from the Muslims and Europe from the Russians.’
‘What do you do on weekends?’
‘And contrary to what you hear and read in the left-wing media, fracking’—another grimace—‘stimulation is completely safe to humans and the environment.’
He picked up the remote control and pointed it at the TV. The sc
reen flashed on to a YouTube video showing a drilling rig.
‘Watch and learn, Professor—the ABCs of hydraulic stimulation.’
The video played on the screen narrated by a friendly male voice, as if Mister Rogers were explaining fracking to the neighborhood kids.
The narrator: ‘Geologists have known for years that substantial deposits of oil and natural gas are trapped in deep shale formations. These shale reservoirs were created tens of millions of years ago. Around the world today, with modern horizontal drilling techniques and hydraulic fracturing, the trapped oil and natural gas in these shale reservoirs is being safely and efficiently produced, gathered, and distributed to customers. Let’s look at the drilling and completion process of a typical oil and natural gas well.’
A color animation depicted the drilling of a well through a cross-section of the earth.
‘Shale reservoirs are usually one mile or more below the surface, well below any underground source of drinking water, which is typically no more than three hundred to one thousand feet below the surface.’
The video showed a drill bit cutting through a blue aquifer at ‘300–1,000 feet’ and then descending down to a gas reservoir at ‘5,000–13,000 feet.’
‘Additionally, steel pipes, called casing, cemented in place, provide a multi-layered barrier to protect fresh-water aquifers.’
Book raised his hand, as if he were back in third grade. Billy Bob paused the video and raised his eyebrows.
‘Yes, Professor?’
‘Steel and cement casing,’ Book said. ‘Isn’t that what they had on that offshore rig that blew out, spilled millions of gallons of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico?’
‘What they had were idiots making decisions.’
Billy Bob clicked the remote and resumed the video.
‘During the past sixty years, the oil and gas industry has conducted fracture stimulations in over one million wells worldwide. The initial steps are the same as for any conventional well. A hole is drilled straight down using fresh-water-based fluid, which cools the drill bit, carries the rock cuttings back to the surface, and stabilizes the wall of the well bore. Once the hole extends below the deepest fresh-water aquifer, the drill pipe is removed and replaced with steel pipe, called surface casing. Next, cement is pumped down the casing. When it reaches the bottom, it is pumped down and then back up between the casing and the bore hole wall, creating an impermeable additional protective barrier between the well bore and any fresh-water sources.’
Book raised his hand again. Billy Bob paused the video again.
‘Impermeable?’ Book said. ‘Cement sidewalks crack over time, why not cement casings? Can you guarantee no leakage?’
‘Industry guidelines only require no significant leakage.’
‘Significant? What does that mean?’
‘More than insignificant.’
Billy Bob restarted the video.
‘What makes drilling for hydrocarbons in a shale formation unique is the necessity to drill horizontally. Vertical drilling continues to a depth called the “kickoff point.” This is where the well bore begins curving to become horizontal.’
The animation showed the drill bit slowly turning to a ninety-degree course through the earth.
‘When the targeted distance is reached, the drill pipe is removed and additional steel casing is inserted through the full length of the well bore. Once again, the casing is cemented in place. Once the drilling is finished and the final casing has been installed, the drilling rig is removed and preparations are made for the next steps: well completion. The first step in completing a well is the creation of a connection between the final casing and the reservoir rock. This consists of lowering a specialized tool called a perforating gun, which is equipped with shaped explosive charges, down to the rock layer containing oil or natural gas. This perforating gun is then fired, which creates holes through the casing, cement, and into the target rock. These perforating holes connect the reservoir and the well bore. Since these perforations are only a few inches long and are performed more than a mile underground, the entire process is imperceptible on the surface.’
Book held up a hand. Billy Bob exhaled then stopped the video.
‘You’re setting off explosive charges inside the earth?’
‘Same thing they do in mining.’
‘I read something about fracking causing earthquakes.’
Billy Bob snorted. ‘Minor earthquakes.’
He resumed the video.
‘The perforation gun is then removed in preparation for the next step: hydraulic fracturing. The process consists of pumping a mixture of mostly water …’
Book raised a finger; he felt almost apologetic. Billy Bob paused the video.
‘How much water?’
‘Five million gallons.’
‘Per well?’
‘Yep.’
‘What’s your source?’
‘Aquifer.’
‘That’s drinking water.’
‘Not after I use it to fracture a well.’
‘Lot of water.’
‘Lot of gas. But actually, Professor, it’s not that much water because it’s a one-time usage with fracturing. A regulation golf course uses five million gallons of water every month. And we only use two gallons of water per million BTUs. Ethanol production uses twenty-five hundred gallons to produce the same amount of energy.’ Another snort of disgust. ‘What a joke that is. And Bush gave ’em the ethanol tax break. Now every farmer in America is growing corn for the ethanol plants.’
He restarted the video.
‘… and sand plus a few chemicals …’
Nadine shot her hand into the air and waved it like Ms. Garza wanting attention. Billy Bob paused the video and regarded her.
‘You too, Honeywell?’
‘What chemicals?’
‘Same stuff you find under your kitchen sink.’
‘Like Drano?’
‘You want your kids drinking frack fluids?’ Book said.
‘Maybe, but the little bastards live in Houston with their mother. My first ex. Second ex, she lives in Dallas. Third, she got my house in Aspen. Goddamn community property laws. You’d think I’d learn about women.’
‘Or they’d learn about you.’
‘Hey, they did just fine by me.’
Almost as if he were bragging about how much he had lost in his divorces.
‘But not to worry, Professor, we’re not contaminating the groundwater. The chemicals we use, they’re harmless. Watch.’
He restarted the video. On the screen a list of chemicals came up. Book read the list aloud.
‘Chloride.’
‘Table salt,’ Billy Bob said.
‘Polyacrylamide.’
‘In contact lenses.’
‘Ethylene glycol.’
‘Household cleaners.’
‘Sodium and potassium carbonate.’
‘Laundry detergent.’
‘Glutaraldehyde.’
‘Disinfectant.’
‘Guar gum.’
‘Ice cream.’
‘Citric acid.’
‘Sodas, ice cream, cosmetics.’
‘Isopropanol.’
‘Deodorant.’
Billy Bob turned his hands up as if innocent of all charges.
‘See, Professor, that’s just regular stuff. We ain’t putting diesel fuel down the hole anymore.’
‘You used to?’
‘Back in the day. But the Environmental Protection Agency banned diesel in slick water back in oh-five.’
‘Slick water? Is that the same as frack fluid?’
‘We don’t say frack, so we call it slick water.’
‘I guess that does sound better than “toxic brew” or “chemical cocktail.”’
‘Much.’
‘… under controlled conditions into deep underground reservoir formations. The chemicals are generally for lubrication, to keep bacteria from forming, and help carry the sand. These chemicals
typically range in concentration from zero-point-one to zero-point-five percent by volume …’
Book raised his hand; Billy Bob sighed and stopped the video.
‘Damn, Professor, I wouldn’t want to go to a movie show with you.’
‘One-half percent of five million gallons is still, what—’
‘Twenty-five thousand gallons,’ Nadine said
Book and Billy Bob both cut their eyes to her. She shrugged.
‘I’m good with numbers.’
Book turned back to Billy Bob. ‘Twenty-five thousand gallons of toxic chemicals pumped down into the earth? In each well?’
‘Can we watch the video? This is the good part.’
Billy Bob pointed the remote, and the animation went into action.
‘… and help to improve the performance of the stimulation. This stimulation fluid is sent to trucks that pump the fluid into the well bore and out through the perforations that were noted earlier. This process creates fractures in the oil and gas reservoir rock. The sand in the frack fluid—’
Nadine gave a fake gasp. ‘OMG—he said frack.’
Billy Bob shook his head as if exasperated with a child.
‘—remains in these fractures in the rock and keeps them open when the pump pressure is relieved. This allows the previously trapped oil or natural gas to flow to the well bore more easily. This initial stimulation segment is then isolated with a specially designed plug and the perforating guns are used to perforate the next stage. This stage is then hydraulically fractured in the same manner. This process is repeated along the entire horizontal section of the well, which can extend several miles. Once the stimulation is complete, the isolation plugs are drilled out and production begins. Initially water, and then natural gas or oil, flows into the horizontal casing and up the well bore. In the course of initial production of the well, approximately fifteen to fifty percent of the fracturing fluid is recovered.’
Book raised his hand. Billy Bob stopped the video.
‘So only fifteen to fifty percent of five million gallons—’
He glanced at Nadine.
‘Seven hundred fifty thousand to two-and-a-half million gallons.’
‘—is recovered. Which means at least fifty percent of those chemicals—’