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Oil, gas options up for grabs on forest
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
MONTEREY - George Washington-Jefferson National Forest Warm Springs district ranger Pat Sheridan told the Highland County Board of Supervisors last Wednesday that Patrick Petroleum of Tulsa, Okla. has asked the Bureau of Land Management to hold an auction of federal oil and gas leases on 25 tracts amounting to 10,243 acres on the national forest in Highland County - 5,441 acres in the North River ranger district and 4,801 acres in the Warm Springs district. The auction will take place Dec. 20 in Springfield. "The continuing record high markets for energy is causing many companies to look at and develop energy proposals that, in the past, were considered uneconomical at previous prices," said Sheridan.
Sheridan explained the forest service first decides which lands are available for oil and gas leasing. That has already been done in the forest plan. "Any company can request from the BLM that (available land) be auctioned off and leased," said Sheridan.
BLM holds the auction. After a company leases forest land, it may file an application with the BLM for a permit to drill. BLM decides how the mineral resources under the surface are used and the forest service determines how surface land will be used. The two agencies have to come to a mutual agreement on drilling. The forest service is also responsible for initiating an environmental analysis.
Sheridan said the property going to auction has been leased before, but the leases expired without drilling proposals.
"Oftentimes these leases are picked up on a defensive situation, so nobody else gets it, or on a speculative situation," said Sheridan. "Leases are for 10 years. Oil is almost $100 a barrel now. The trigger point could be $150 (a barrel). The mountain on the Virginia side has been explored extensively; they (oil and gas companies) have a good idea how deep they have to go. Based on the geology, the difference between West Virginia and Virginia, all the operations are on the other side. The geology on the Virginia side does not lend itself to extracting gas. It's more expensive, harder to corral. There is a good size field that has been developed west of Laurel Fork," said Sheridan.
Supervisor Robin Sullenberger said, "With the nationwide emphasis on renewable energy, federal policy is certainly going to have to catch up with that process and I don't know if that means implementation of minimums or whatever, I anticipate the activity level with that is going to increase dramatically over the next year or two overall."
"This (President George Bush's) administration is actively trying to find alternatives to fossil fuel energy resources," said Sheridan. "They are setting up inducements, subsidies and encouragement in the business world to try to generate home grown energy production."
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