BOARD01820

• Board Meeting Date: 4/14/1965
• Description: Minutes
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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information and technical data for use in the
design of the comn~rcial plant. The prototype
plant is designed to process 1,000 tons of
shale per day and to produce 700 to 800 barrels
of oil per day. The second phase would be the
construct~on and operation of a commercial
plant planned to process approximately 60,000
tons of oil shale per day and to produce
approximately 50,000 barrels of oil per day.
Present plans indicate that commercial produc-
tion could commence as early as the last quar-
ter of 1967.

A contract for the construction of the
prototype retort and associated facilities
was awarded to the Bechtel Corporation of San
Francisco, California, in August, 1964. The
building of roads and the preparation of a
plant site began in September, 1964 and in
November, 1964, mining operations were com-
menced. progress in both mining and plant
construction is on schedule and indicates that
the prototype facilities will be ready for
operation in June or July of 1965.

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A firm supply of water is essential to
any project contemplating the production of oil
from oil shale in commercial quantities. Col-
ony has undertaken an extensive study of water
resources in Colorado, utilizing source data
compiled by the colorado Water Conservation
Board, The Colorado River Water Conservation
District and the Bureau of Reclamation. It
has concluded that the only p+esently avail-
able reliable supply of water for Colony's
purposes is the Green Mountain Reservoir. Ac-
cordingly, Colony began negotiations with the
Bureau of Reclamation for a supply of water,
following the precedent established by the con-
tract between the Bureau of Reclamation and
the Crown-Zellerbach Corporation. These nego-
tiations resulted in the preparation of a
contract satisfactory to both parties early
this year which will supply Colony with up to
7,200 acre-feet of water per year.

Colony has been advised by the Bureau of