Coal-bed methane gas drillers in the Powder River Basin were down to 11 rigs last week compared to 28 rigs the week before. The industry averaged 43 active rigs during the month of January, according to the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Rig numbers typically dwindle this time of the year as raptor and grouse stipulations, or "stips," come into play. The stips blot the map with large orange and purple circles representing surface occupancy restrictions around nests and strutting grounds where drilling and other activities are temporarily restricted.

"We don't have a good sense if contractors are all still working. I'm assuming it's working OK because we haven't heard anything," said Paul Beels, associate field manager for the Bureau of Land Management's Buffalo field office.

More than 100 workers protested at the BLM Buffalo field office a year ago when the stipulations went in effect. Later, operators admitted they'd erred on the side of caution and sent more crews home, temporarily idling about 1,000 workers.

This year, BLM officials held meetings with operators to make clear what activities were still allowable during the seasonal restrictions.

"It's been working pretty well. At least we haven't heard too much," said Beels.

All of the concern centered on surface occupancy restrictions to protect raptors and sage grouse that re-activated in February and March.

With some careful planning, coal-bed methane companies can keep some drillers busy by moving them to "non-stip" areas during the raptor roosting and sage grouse-strutting season in the spring. Rigs and other equipment are typically allowed to cross "stipped" areas to get to non-stip areas.

Although the Powder River Basin coal-bed methane industry has fewer active producing wells, daily production was on the rise late in 2007, according Oil and Gas Conservation Commission director Don Likwartz. That's because the industry has moved from the shallow Wyodak coal seam, to the deeper, thicker Big George coal seam, which is more laden with water and gas.

"A lot of those (Big George wells) are making 6 to 8 times what the Wyodak coal wells did," said Likwartz.

Wyodak wells typically produced between 150- and 250 thousand cubic feet (mcf) of gas per day, compared to a Big George well that can produce more than 1 million cubic feet (Mmcf) per day.

Cumulative production for the Powder River Basin industry is 2.63 trillion cubic feet of gas just 10 percent of the state's total estimated recoverable reserve of 25 trillion cubic feet in the basin.

Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 577-6069 or dustin.bleizeffertrib.com.