West could see gas, oil boom over 20 years

Possibility of 119,000 new wells worries advocacy group

Gargi Chakrabarty, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 19, 2006 at midnight

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Drilling rigs that dot the Rocky Mountain landscape could fill in even more dramatically based on the number of approvals by the federal government.

The Bush administration has nearly 119,000 new oil and gas wells on the books for public lands in Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico over the next two decades. That's nearly double the current 63,000 producing wells on public lands in those five states.

Colorado alone could see nearly 23,000 new wells in the next 10 to 20 years, more than five times the current 4,200 producing wells on public lands in the state, according to a report released Wednesday.

The analysis by the Wilderness Society, an advocacy group, is based on the number of wells approved in various decisions by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, an arm of the Interior Department.

"We are about to see gas drilling at a magnitude greater than anything we've experienced, and it threatens to forever damage many of our most treasured Western places," said William Meadows, president of the Wilderness Society.

The group said its report is a conservative estimate, given that the BLM is updating older plans or approving newer plans that could add more wells.

For companies to set up rigs, they still will need to lease the land and obtain the drilling permits.

The BLM would not comment on the report. The federal agency manages 69.7 million acres in the five Western states, including 8.3 million acres in Colorado.

"What I can say is that all of our decisions on leasing or development of oil and gas follow our land-use plans, which is a completely open, publicly reviewed process," BLM spokesperson Jaime Gartner said.

"Any environmental impact within a planning areas is analyzed according to federal laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, among others."

The Rocky Mountain region, often called the Saudi Arabia or Persian Gulf of natural gas, is estimated to contain enough gas to heat and cool 70 million homes for nearly a half-century, the National Petroleum Council says.

Given the recent run-up in energy prices, the Bush administration has pushed for more domestic drilling of resources, especially in the Rocky Mountains.

BP announced last October it will spend roughly $2.2 billion over the next 15 years to drill 2,000 wells in Wyoming's Wamsutter Field. EnCana Oil & Gas, which owns 2,400 wells in Colorado's Piceance Basin, intends to spend millions more in the coming years.

"If you look at the overall gas production in the United States, one area where there is continued growth is the Rocky Mountain region," said Doug Hock, spokesman of EnCana. "It's a very prospective area for oil and gas development."

The drillers have locked horns with communities and environmental groups, which say aggressive energy development could severely damage the environment.

The Wilderness Society report identified 17 locations - including five in Colorado - that would be threatened by oil and gas development. These areas are rich in wildlife and offer recreational activities, both of which could be hurt by drilling.

Colorado's Roan Plateau, Vermillion Basin, the HD Mountain, Grand Mesa Slopes and Clear Fork Divide are on the "Too Wild to Drill" list.

Clare Bastable, a local conservationist fighting to stop drilling on top of the Roan Plateau, says guidelines issued by the BLM are not adequate to save the delicate flora and fauna of the plateau's ridges and valleys.

"We filed a protest Monday on the final EIS (environmental impact study) released for the Roan," Bastable said. "Although the study includes some innovative ideas, it is going to result in hundreds if not over a thousand wells on top of the plateau, and that is not what the community wants."

The BLM's land-use planning decisions, however, are not the final word on the number of future wells.

Decisions by companies to drill would depend on the market prices of natural gas and oil.

Drilling in the Rocky Mountains is expensive, costing about $1 million per well, and the wells are slow producing. Companies might decide not to drill if the price of natural gas falls below a certain point.

Also, a change in administration could alter the pace of energy development.

"The political climate in Washington is a factor," said Steve Smith of the Wilderness Society, "But once a land is leased and a drilling permit is issued, that doesn't change much even if there is a change in the political climate."

chakrabartyg@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2976

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