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BLM set to begin West Slope oil shale leasing program Original shale industry went bust in early 1980s; Shell working on new technology, says commercial decision at least a decade away Associated Press
More than 20 years after “Black Sunday” signaled the end of the oil shale boom on Colorado’s Western Slope, the federal government is planning to sell some shale leases.
The Bureau of Land Management the week of Nov. 22 announced its intent to begin an oil shale leasing program, offering oil companies a chance to conduct research on 40-acre plots for short periods of time.
It has been decades since the BLM has issued any oil shale leases, but memories of the boom in the 1970s are still strong on the West Slope.
An industry that brought numerous jobs to the area failed on May 2, 1982, when Exxon closed its $5 billion Colony project and laid off 2,200 workers. Other oil companies followed suit, triggering an economic downturn in the area. Program designed to encourage research The BLM’s leading program is designed to encourage research to find efficient ways to extract oil from shale. The agency’s explanation of the program in the Federal Register says oil shale resources in the United States hold 2.6 trillion barrels of oil. Of that, 1.5 trillion barrels is estimated to be in the Green River formation, most of which is in western Colorado.
The BLM expects to see development in the Piceance Creek basin between Rifle and Meeker as well as in parts of Wyoming and Utah, the document said.
The agency is moving carefully and asking for public comments to help refine its leasing program.
“When the mines shut down back in the ‘70s, a lot of communities felt it, but right now we’re just starting with small steps,” said Jim Edwards, chief of the BLM’s Branch of Solid Minerals. “We’re looking at 10 years before anything beyond research and development would be happening.” Shell studying new extraction process Shell Exploration and Production Co. has conducted field research in Rio Blanco County on its own land, working to perfect oil extraction from shale, said company Vice President Terry O’Connor.
The company is studying a process that involves drilling vertical holes into the earth and heating rock to nearly 700 degrees Fahrenheit to separate oil from the rock. The process is less environmentally destructive than previous methods, O’Connor said.
“We’re still perfecting this process, and we’re at least 10 years away from making any sort of commercial decision on using this in a widespread operation,” he said.
The BLM will accept comments on its leasing program until Dec. 22.
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