BLM issues oil shale research lease in Uintah

One day after the U.S. House of Representatives voted against issuing commercial oil shale leases in 2008, the Interior Department issued an oil shale research lease in Uintah County.

The Interior Department's action might seem out of sync with the intentions of the House members. But a Bureau of Land Management official in Salt Lake City says the two go hand-in-hand.

The Interior Department funding bill, which narrowly passed the House on Wednesday, applies to commercial oil shale development. The lease issued Thursday reactivates an oil shale research development and demonstration (RD&D) project to learn about oil shale production.

The lease is on a 160-acre tract of public land about 50 miles southeast of Vernal, administered by the BLM's Vernal Field Office. The site is the location of White River Oil Shale Mine.

The lease was issued to Oil Shale Exploration Co. after an environmental analysis indicated the project would have no significant environmental impacts.

"The vast oil shale contained in the Green River Valley is one of the United States' greatest energy resources," Dan Elcan of Oil Shale Exploration Co., said in a press release.

"The White River Mine, located within the Green River Valley, is a tremendous asset to the state of Utah and our country. Creating an oil shale industry will have significant benefits to the Uintah Basin, the state of Utah and our nation."

Elcan said developing oil shale can be a major step in solving America's energy problems.

The initial lease term is for 10 years, and the BLM will consider extending that by five years "upon proof of diligent progress toward commercial production," adds a release from the agency.

"RD&D (research development and demonstration) lessees may also apply to convert the leases plus 4,960 adjacent acre to a 20-year commercial lease once commercial production levels have been achieved and additional requirements are met," the release adds. It says the agency will carry out further environmental analyses on any proposed commercial operations on the research leases.

The lease is for federal land on the Green River Formation. According to the BLM, the formation covers parts of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming and may hold the equivalent of 800 billion barrels of oil that could be recoverable. If that were developed, the BLM added, it would be "enough to meet U.S. demand for oil at current levels for 110 years."