Planet Green Unveils New Oil Industry Reality Show ‘BOOMTOWN’
Planet Green has a new reality show called BOOMTOWN that promises to expose the real costs of oil production in America; environmental, economic, and personal. The five-episode series takes place in Parshall, ND, a tiny town with a population of 1,073 where the economy has been in a steep decline for several years. But lying just below the farmlands, local stores, and football field, surveyors found huge reserves of unrefined, highly prized crude oil. Practically overnight ordinary citizens became millionaires. But not everyone gets rich quick, and many think that this new development is only the beginning of the end for the town. In the first episode, we meet Richard, Parshall’s mayor and only grocery store owner who has struggled for years to keep his store open and provide for his family. With the discovery of oil he decides to lease his land and it looks like he may have a reversal of fortune. But for every lucky one there’s someone who doesn’t reap the monetary benefits. Like Donny, a rancher who has also leased out his property but as a result of only owning the surface rights to his land, actually gets no money and only the inconvenience of drilling. According to the eco-friendly channel the show will expose the seedy underbelly of the oil industry, highlighting the lengths that oil barons and land holders will go to in order to cash in on this black gold. Viewers will see the community of Parshall wrestle with the choice of sacrificing the welfare of their town for the promise of fortune. In addition the reality show will look at the environmental costs and the effect that drilling oil will have in the long term. According to a Planet Green press release , “With mounting pressure for the United States to find alternative energy sources, BOOMTOWN chronicles the events in Parshall as they unfold over the course of a year, providing viewers with unprecedented access to one of the biggest stories of our time.” The series is set to air Saturday nights starting January 29th, and in the wake of the BP Gulf Oil Spill and the fact that the top searched phrases in 2010 all involved terms related to oil spill, this seems like a timely and much needed addition to the TV lineup. We’re excited to watch!
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Planet Green Unveils New Oil Industry Reality Show ‘BOOMTOWN’
I have watched the 1st 4 episodes with great interest as I was involved with the drilling team in the Parshall area on the intial 5 wells and have worked in the oil industry for 33 years in this area. A great deal of change has occurred which was portrayed somewhat accurately. I have empathy for the non mineral owners. I feel that the show was slanted to show how evil oil has all the rights when indeed it is the mineral owners who have the rights. It was stated the surface owners receive no payments. This is untrue as they get a payment for surface damage for road and pad built and also gets a yearly check for acreage. The rancher whose family owned the farm for 100 years and had no minerals if it was bought 100 years ago with no minerals is unlikely, than some family member chose to sell them instead of lease this benefit was never mentioned. It is true surface owners don’t get the big money and their life has disruptions during drilling but all land owners are aware of this situation when they own or purchase land in this area. A boom of this magnitude causes many changes and hardships but many of the problems i.e. traffic and large equipment diminish greatly after drilling is completed. To show someone proclaiming the land is wrecked with salt and show some one tasting the ground and saying its salty is ludicrous. Do a study on how much farmland has been permanently damaged in 50 years of drilling In North Dakota and present that, this is just an attempt for sympathy not science. As a long time worker in the field I know the real story of how much hard work is done to cause minimum destruction and damage. I also think the backers of Dakota resource council should be identified. I would like this documentary to be reshot every 5 years with a little better balance.