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o:-r-.-- "_---- 'Western Resources', Wrapup.;'; , ' . '" ... -- '" > lest - Lease .:Plan Favored ~ ^ '"'-- W ASHINGTO~ - Wby has the. imei'ior Department decid- ed ona six-tr.act test.IU5e pro- gram in Colorado, Utah and, Wyoming instead of dewlap. ment of oil snale by a govern- ment corporation, or a govern- ment.industry' demonstration program? Interior addressed this ques- tion in the final oil shale en- vironmental-impacl statement r('ltaS('d Aug, 30, The staleTTltnt covered ramI- fications of both initial oil.shale development under the Interior I Department"s test-lease pro- gram al1d de-velopml'lit on a major scale of a mature oil. shale industry. 'A CIIARADt:' Int('rior oflidals state no decision has been maM to go ahead with lls oil.shale test. lease program at this lime, but an old hand at the departmt'nt caUedthisstance"3charade:' There is widespread t'Xpt"cta. tion ~re that Interior's test.. lease program .....ill get under way not lattr than the end of this year, Interior hopt's to sell I six tracts. each about :i.120 acres, at t.....o-wetk in\ervals when the program gelS started. The t.....o:eolorado tracts in Rio Blanco Count}', with the high!.'''t grade of oil shale. will bE' 01- fered for lease sale first, followed,by the tl'iO Ctah tracts in Uintah County, and two wyoming tracts in S.....'---elwater Count". Lea~ sales of th~ Wyoming tractS are very, "err i[f}', All tracts will be of{{'rM for 21).year I{'rms, subject to rt'n!al and royalty payments to t.'nde Sam, by competitive bonus bid- ding Till' It'aSt's mar ht> renegotiated at 2O.year inler- \'also [)(>\'elopment of the six t{'st tracts is oot ~:tpect{'(i to occur at t~ sam~ tlm~, Interior of. ficials said, 11 estimatt'd de,'el- opment of a Colorado tract by underilround mining and sur- lace-rclortifl!! methods would bE' ('Qmpl~ed first and go mlO production in 1978 as a :iQ.OOO , - ~~.. .' . . . ~ . , I~ .........-t-... .....J ~.,~... Y.' ~..~.- tim,~€olMltdtttTitcHo"t be':siJtd is expeCled to go into production in 1979 as a 100,000 barrel-per-dar operation using surface mjning.surfa<.~ retorl. ing techniques. It 'is proj{'ctt'd that the Vt"h tracts would be de\,t"loped together as one underground mine-surface retorting opt'ra- hon that would go into produc- honin 1980 as a :iO,OQO..barrel de,.elopment, Finally, the two Wyoming tracts are expected 10 be dl:'vel. oped tog('lher by an in-situ method of retorting the oil shale in the ground. tht"n pump- ing tht" oil oot, The Wyominlt project would go into produc. tion in 1981 with a 5ll,OQO-narrel capacity, according to Interior. ~,OOOB,\RR(O:l.s In!erior's proJt'Ction of the production of 2.)(1,000 barrels of shale oil dail" from thest" six tesl tracts o~ public land b}' 1981 is ('xlremely optimistic. In th... final environmental.impact statement, Interior admitt!'d in- situ pr(l('eSSt's of r('torting shale in place bave not bfoen proved to be either economically or technically feasible. and that the Bureau of ~IiOtS in-situ ex_ perimt'nts in Wyoming have bt>en '"inconclusive" to date. Interior claimed the leasing proliram is thE" best .....ay 01 get- ting a new oil-shale industry into early. production. with the go\'ernl1'\ent assuring a high slandard of environmental con- trols on the lessees, Interior rejected the go\'ern- mE"nt-corporation approach, claiming it would cost the go\'- ernment more mont')', and would place Vncle :-;am polen- tiall). "in competition with pri,'ate industry for the sale of fut'is and associate-d materi- als" As industry is willing to take thE" risk in rleveloping a new shale-oil indust,"", Inteflor arj;l:ucc lalthough tills is not provedl, ther(' is no rE"a50n wh,' the l1!ileral go\'ernmelll should aoWYiith public funds. The dt'partmenl also argu/'d II might be more diJficult 10 secure sufficient federal lund- ing 10 assurt proper em'iron- menial controls undE"r a go"ern- ment Clp<'rations lhan a prl\'ate ~r)' operation. particularly P fi IT " " " " " E 0010