A Corpus Christi based oil company mailed hundreds of notices to Edinburg homeowners regarding a deep oil and gas well it wants to drill in the middle of the city.

The Royal Production Company has multiple oil wells across the city of Edinburg, including some near the intersection of Canton and Jackson roads.

The company wants to drill another one, nearly 15,000 feet deep, but some who live nearby are a little concerned.

Mario Pea received a notice that Royal Production Company applied for a permit to drill a new oil and gas well behind his house.

“My concern will be the value of the property in the future,” Pea said.

When Pea moved into his home five years ago, there were already a number of wells in the plot of land behind his house.

However, he’s concerned about something going wrong during the drilling of a new well.

“If for whatever reason there will be an explosion, how will that affect us? How far will it go around the neighborhood? I am concerned about that,” he said.

The new well would be the deepest well within city limits, said Hamilton Rogers, the land manager for Royal Production Company.

“That’s where we think the next level of production comes from, Hamilton said. We’ve been producing other wells in the area at shallower depths. We just need to take this formation a little deeper.”

If the permit is approved, it will take about 50 to 60 days to drill the well.

Although the permit is not for horizontal drilling, Rogers isn’t ruling out the controversial method of drilling known as fracking.

“This is a traditional, conventional type well, but I’m not telling you fracking would not be involved because it may be involved,” Hamilton said.

There has been an increase in the number of earthquakes in areas like North Texas, where fracking has become more common, which concerns Pea.

“We want to be assured nothing like that will happen here,” Pea said.

Royal Production will be holding a public information meeting on Tuesday, June 9 at 7 p.m. at Echo Hotel and Convention Center. The public is encouraged to attend.

The City of Edinburg will hold a public hearing on July 7 before the permit is approved.