Coalbed methane permits could be in jeopardy
Date: 09-May-02
Country: USA
Author: Judith Crosson
On April 26, the Interior Department voided three coalbed methane drilling leases in Wyoming's Powder River Basin owned by Marathon Oil Corp. , because their impact on the environment had not been thoroughly studied.
"Even though those leases are not challengeable when we have requests come in for permits to drill we may find the same vulnerability," Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke said.
After an energy company has been awarded a lease to drill on public lands it must then seek a permit.
"So we're right now assessing the need to go back ... to make sure that the leases that are existing are fully compliant and capable of moving forward," Clarke said.
Deputy Interior Secretary Stephen Griles said leases are subject to challenge 60 days after they are issued. The three leases, which were issued during the Clinton Administration, were based on a mid-1980s land plan that only anticipated convention oil and gas drilling, not coalbed methane drilling.
"Our role is to insure that in future activities that we engage in we have land use plans that support those activities," Griles said after meeting with industry representatives about permit issuing on public lands.
According to the National Petroleum Council, coalbed methane accounts for 40 trillion cubic feet, or 12 percent, of untapped gas reserves in the Rocky Mountains.
Independent oil and gas companies drilling in the Rocky Mountains want government officials to speed up drilling permits on public lands in a region fast becoming an important source of energy as the United States tries to lessen dependence on imported oil.
"Permitting is fraught with problems," Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States Executive Director Marc Smith told reporters after the meeting.
Smith said permits take anywhere from 34 to 194 days, with the average at 84 days and it has become increasingly difficult and expensive for operators who do not know when to hire rigs and workers for drilling because of the delays.
The Rocky Mountain region's natural gas reserves are seen as key to President Bush's plan to increase domestic production since the U.S. Senate last month rejected a drilling exploration plan for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska.
The administration and many Senate Republicans had said the ANWR reserves would reduce U.S. dependence on crude from countries such as Iraq, the sixth biggest oil supplier to the United States.
Before meeting with oil and gas operators Griles, Clarke and Assistant Interior Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Rebecca Watson met with several environmental groups. "We came here to listen to the environmentalists and we did and we came to listen to industry and we did," he said.