Editor's Note: A public meeting will be held Thursday, Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Vevay Township Hall.
A private oil and gas company is hoping to drill at a new site near Mason.
Traverse City-based Jordan Development is seeking a state permit to drill in a 120-acre unit in Vevay Township near Mason.
It’s in an untapped area that lies within a historically productive oil deposit.
Vice-president Ben Brower says if the company gains approval, it would not conduct a highly controversial technique known as “fracking.”
“The state of Michigan has naturally fractured rock,” Brower explains. “So, we’ll drill into it, and if the oil is there, it will come out on its own. We don’t have to do any fracking like you see in Texas or North Dakota or Pennsylvania.”
Brower says so far more than 130 property owners have signed leases that would pay them royalties from the mineral rights.