Horizontal drilling, changing patterns of extraction, and piecemeal participation: Urban hydrocarbon governance in Colorado

Research on unconventional oil and gas (UOG) development has focused so intently on hydraulic fracturing that it has overlooked “fracking's” partner technology, horizontal drilling (HZD), which now enables operators to drill more than 2.5 miles. This innovation merits examination because it generates opportunities and challenges - in tension - for regions experiencing UOG development. HZD allows operators to condense their surface impacts by drilling multiple wells per pad. This consolidation benefits the many in a given extractive area, but at the expense of the few who live near intensified sites. HZD also allows operators to more flexibly position these large well pads. Combined, these drilling innovations are further splintering an already fragmented UOG governance space and creating novel procedural fairness challenges, especially in cities. This study offers the concept of “piecemeal participation” to describe these challenges, drawing from a case study in Colorado. Piecemeal participation occurs when governments structure public input on a site-by-site basis, while operators, leveraging HZD's reach and flexibility, plan drilling and weigh alternative drilling locations at the scale of the city. The analysis evaluates piecemeal participation using standard procedural fairness criteria, generating findings of broader relevance as urban areas anticipate UOG development and HZD worldwide.