Daily Press Writer
MONTROSE — The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will get an up-close look at proposals to develop oil shale next week when it holds a field hearing on the Western Slope.
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The trip will allow the senators to check up on the progress of oil shale development - a process officials hope could yield nearly 800 billion barrels of oil - in the wake of the 2005 Energy Policy Act. It called for the establishment of a research and development leasing program and another separate commercial leasing program with a timeline for completion on the latter in two and a half years.
“I’m firmly committed to environmentally-responsible oil development. I’m going to Colorado and Utah to see for myself that that’s how it will be done,” Domenici said in a written statement.
While stating that the hearings would be useful for Domenici and the committee’s staff, Salazar tempered his expectations for oil shale development during a Wednesday conference call with the media.
“I don’t see that oil shale today is a panacea to the energy crisis we have in America,” he said, adding that conservation and the development of alternative forms of energy must continue to play a role in the country’s response rising energy prices.
Last summer, Salazar toured the state following the passage of the energy act. During his stop in Montrose he expressed concerns with the timelines for the oil shale development and its possible environmental impacts. On Wednesday he reiterated his concerns about the environment.
“We need to be sure we’re not sacrificing the sustainability of our public lands,” Salazar said.
Perfecting the technology used to refine the shale could also prove to be an obstacle in reaching the timelines laid out in the legislation.
“Right now, the technology that’s being looked at ... is still very much in its experimental stage,” Salazar said.
All of the proposed research and development proposals in Colorado are in Rio Blanco County. Chevron and EGL Resources each have proposals, while Shell Frontier Oil and Gas has three. All of test sites in Colorado will use in-situ retorting, a process by which the shale is heated underground until it releases the oil.
Dominici’s second day in the region will include a tour of the two proposed sites in Utah alongside Hatch.
Both of the Utah proposals, which are in Uintah County about 50 miles south of Vernal, would use surface retorting, in which the shale is mined, brought to the surface, then heated to extract the oil.
Review of the commercial leasing program is proceeding in a separate process. U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials are in the beginning stages of review that would amend the resource management plans for BLM field offices in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. The Colorado field offices include Grand Junction, Little Snake, White River and Glenwood Springs.
The hearing will take place at 9:30 a.m. on June 1 in the auditorium of Grand Junction City Hall.
Contact Matt Hildner via e-mail at matth@montrosepress.com
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