Golden, CO — March 13, 2008 — Americans for American Energy today applauded the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's decision to proceed with leasing for development of the gas-rich U.S. Naval Oil Shale Reserve in western Colorado.

Today’s BLM announcement comes after the agency considered comments from Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, who late last year publicly embraced drilling in the NOSR in an environmentally sensitive manner. The NOSR, on a small area of the Roan Plateau, contains an estimated 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to heat every home in Colorado for 25 years.
 
“This decision is equivalent to the BLM giving Colorado a $1 billion winning lottery ticket,” said Greg Schnacke, President and CEO of Americans for American Energy, a grassroots organization that works to educate the American people and policymakers on the urgency of working together to help America increase its energy independence. “The question now is, will Gov. Bill Ritter let the state cash in?”
 
Schnacke warned that growing concern over newly proposed state oil and gas drilling regulations, and whether the state puts up roadblocks to the Roan implementation plan, could adversely affect revenues from the development project.
 
“You can’t make drilling companies spend billions of dollars if the regulatory environment makes it impossible to generate a reasonable rate of return,” said Schnacke.
 
How these concerns unfold could reduce or eliminate the expected $2 billion bonus for Roan leases. Under new federal rules, 48 percent of the bonus money would go directly to the state.
 
“The nightmare scenario that Gov. Ritter must now consider is the possibility of being liable for a refund of up to a $1 billion lease bonus should a company decide state roadblocks are too much to swallow,” said Schnacke. “The more difficult it becomes for companies to operate in Colorado, the less money the state will receive. It’s simple.”
 
Should a company decide to abandon the project before a lease is finalized, it could demand a return of its lease bonus payment. And that’s a real possibility as the timing of the federal plan and the controversial state rulemaking proceeding begin to converge.
 
“We are very pleased that the BLM recognizes the potential benefits of its highly restrictive plan to develop the vast natural gas resources of the Naval Oil Shale Reserve,” said Schnacke. “We are opposed to further delays in this project in order to appease environmentalists. It’s important that the BLM be allowed to move ahead with its plan, which is the most environmentally sensitive development plan ever put forth in the United States. The need for Colorado to begin realizing the revenues from this project is great, as is the need for our nation to begin realizing the benefits of this great natural resource.”