US West to add more than 118,000 wells in next 20 years: greens

US West to add more than 118,000 wells in next 20 years: greens

Washington (Platts)--18Oct2006

The Bush administration is putting in place plans to approve more than
118,000 new oil and natural gas wells on federally owned land in Colorado,
Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming over the next 20 years, nearly double
the number of existing producing wells on federal lands throughout the Rocky
Mountain region, The Wilderness Society said Wednesday.

The environmental group, which based the finding on its preliminary
review of actions at the US Bureau of Land Management, said the plan would
threaten wildlife habitat and air and water quality.

"The continued emphasis of this administration is delivering America
first [to producers], every acre," Wilderness Society President William
Meadows said of the administration's energy plans. "We're simply saying, 'Not
every acre, [not] every place.' Some areas have conservation issues that need
to be addressed."

In a telephone news conference, the organization issued a report and a
list called "Too Wild to Drill," that includes 17 areas where it said no
drilling should occur. They include five sites in Colorado, four in Wyoming
and eight others in Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and
Utah.

Among them are the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Teshekpuk Lake in
Alaska, Roan Plateau in Colorado, Otero Mesa in New Mexico and the Wyoming
Range.

The group said the "vast majority" of oil and gas resources on federal
lands is accessible to the energy industry. "In fact, a 2003 BLM report
indicates that 85% of the oil and 88% of the gas on federal lands in Colorado,
New Mexico, Montana, Utah and Wyoming are available for leasing and
development," it said.

Meadows said the findings are meant to support efforts by "an unusual
coalition" of conservationists, anglers, hunters, ranchers and others
concerned about expanding drilling in the West. "Our experience is that when
you're able to identify specific places that are threatened, you can begin to
build a political constituency around those places," he said.

--Bill Loveless, bill_loveless@platts.com

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