Sidney oil office one of only three state agencies located outside the capital

The oil pumped from Nebraska fields may not amount to much, at least compared to activity in Texas or the Dakotas. But it's enough to keep the state's regulatory agency busy.

“We have produced a half of billion barrels of oil in Nebraska,” reported Stan Belieu, Deputy Director of the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, based in downtown Sidney.

The commission was established in 1959, during the original oil boom years, to regulate production in the state. It is one of only three government agencies not headquartered in Lincoln.

The state established the NOGCC and located it in the panhandle for an obvious reason: much of the oil and gas discovered in Nebraska lurked under western soil. Sidney, Kimball and other area communities became centers of production and distribution for pumps drilled nearby. Marathon Oil placed a district office in town, near active wells.

“This was the hot area of production,” Belieu said.

The NOGCC has quasi-judicial responsibility, meaning they hold hearings, establish rules and regulations governing oil companies operating in the state and levy penalties for infractions.

“We’ll fine people, but we want compliance more than we want money—that's our job,” Belieu explained. “We’re here to police the industry and if we’re not going to do it, we’re not helping anyone.”

The organization also ensures environmental regulations are adhered to by companies—particularly those involving protection of ground water and drinking water. The NOGCC receives a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to inspect all class II injection wells. These are operations that reinject water back into the well.

They also determine where wells can be drilled the impact of those new sites on the land.

Research and drilling continues in the region. The panhandle, McCook, Banner County and other portions of western Nebraska report activity. The McCook area is the currently the hottest property, at least for conventional drilling. A fracking operation opened on the edge of Kimball and Banner Counties last summer.

“They will continue to drill wells in Nebraska and someone will discover new technology and they will open up new reservoirs and new wells,” Belieu predicted. And while new technology draws oils from shale and narrow fissures, “conventional wells are not going to go away.”