Drillers in Utah Have a Friend in a U.S. Land Agency

VERNAL, Utah — Bill Stringer leaned into the office of his top deputy here at the Bureau of Land Management one recent day to share his latest victory.  

“We got upheld!” Mr. Stringer said, meaning his bosses in Salt Lake City had gone along with his staff’s recommendation to allow oil drilling near Desolation Canyon, a national historic site known for its pristine wilderness and white-water rafting. Despite objections from environmentalists, more oil wells would dot the huge stretch of federal land Mr. Stringer oversees. 

Mr. Stringer, 55, who sports a goatee, rides a motorcycle and sometimes wears rock band T-shirts to work, is a little-known manager in an agency many Americans have never heard of, but he is arguably as powerful as many of Utah’s elected officials. As head of the bureau’s outpost in northeast Utah, he and his colleagues make decisions that have affected livelihoods and largely favored oil and natural gas companies eager to join in a national energy boom. The companies’ lobbying efforts extend beyond Washington to officials across the West, including Mr. Stringer here in Vernal, population 9,000. 

The Bureau of Land Management, part of the Interior Department, is the nation’s biggest landlord, controlling 248 million acres, including nearly half the land in Utah. Charged with protecting public lands while exploiting their resources — for mining, drilling, timbering, ranching — Mr. Stringer’s agency has been at the center of a fierce battle in recent years as companies have sought to lease federal property and get drilling permits.  New York Times

Will the railroad return to the Uintah Basin?

Founded in 1902, the Uintah Railway transported passengers, livestock and wool between Mack, Colo., and Watson, Utah. The primary cargo hauled over the winding, narrow-gauge track however was Gilsonite — a natural asphalt found only in the Uintah Basin that was used in lacquer paints and electrical insulators.

But when Gilsonite prices went off the rails in the late 1930s, so did the Uintah Railway.

Now, based in part on a desire to cut the number of double-tanker trucks hauling crude oil out of the Uintah Basin, officials at the state and local level will study the current and future transportation needs of the region.

One possibility on the table? A new railroad system.

One double-tanker truck leaves the Uintah Basin every three minutes, according to Cheri McCurdy, executive director of the Uintah Transportation Special Service District.

The district McCurdy heads has $700,000 from the state Community Impact Board — which allocates a portion of the tax money Utah collects on oil and gas production in the state — to commit to the regional transportation study. An additional $200,000 is coming from the Utah Department of Transportation, and Duchesne County and its transportation district are kicking in another $200,000.

Possible transportation modes for meeting the demands identified in the report will be evaluated in a future phase of the study. And while rail is definitely one possibility that will be considered, according to UDOT spokeswoman Mindy Nelson, it's not the only option that will be evaluated. Deseret News

Newfield Exploration ups full-year '12 production estimates

Citing "encouraging results" in the Uinta Basin, Anadarko Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, Houston-based Newfield Exploration Co. has revised its full-year 2012 production expectations upward in a midyear update.

In the update, released July 19, Newfield said its natural gas production in the second quarter of 2012 was approximately 40 Bcf, or an average of 440 MMcf/d. Its reported oil and liquids production was 6.1 million barrels, or 67,000 barrels per day. The company's production mix was approximately 51% natural gas, 45% crude oil and 4% natural gas liquids. 

"For the second time this year, Newfield raised its 2012 expectations for total Company production to 296 - 304 Bcfe (previous guidance was 292 - 302 Bcfe)," the company said. "With increasing activities planned in key oil regions in late 2012 and ongoing leasing in the Cana Woodford, Newfield expects that its capital investments in 2012 will approximate $1.7 billion, or the 'upper end' of its original guidance range of $1.5 - $1.7 billion."

Newfield said it planned to expand its production in the Cana Woodford play in the Anadarko Basin during the second half of the year and into 2013. The company, which owns 135,000 net acres in the area, said it was focusing its drilling efforts on an approximately 80,000-net-acre portion called the South Cana, which it said was "an area prone to high oil and liquids yields." 

Newfield said its production in the Uinta Basin, where it owns an interest in approximately 230,000 net acres, was continuing an upward trend after having recently set a production record of approximately 36,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. 

"Full year 2012 production is expected to increase about 20% over 2011 levels," the company said.

Permitting process reviewed

Operators in the oil and gas industry of the Uintah Basin depend on permitted access to drill on federal lands. 

To do so, they file Applications to Permit Drilling, or APDs, which is a heavily-regulated process associated with lengthy delays. 

Cutting through the backlog has become a challenge for the Bureau of Land Management, particularly at the Vernal Field Office. 

“We are faced with the largest backlog of APDs in the Bureau,” says Mike Stiewig, Vernal Field Office manager. 

Twenty-seven percent of every APD coming into the BLM this year will pass through the Vernal Office. 

He says that of the “1,200 APDs received this fiscal year already, we have processed over 900, and have a pending backlog in the neighborhood of 1,600 APDs.”  Uintah Basin Standard Online

Utes aim for economic, health boost

A vision that has been researched and refined will soon be reality. A chance to celebrate that reality will be from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at the Ute Plaza Supermarket and Health Food Store and Ute Lanes, when a grand re-opening will take place at both facilities.

Most of the activity will happen at plaza at the supermarket, with some activity also at the bowling alley and family fun center.

There will be an official ceremony starting at the market at 3 p.m., and at 6 p.m. live entertainment will begin with Dennis Yazzie and the Night Breeze Band from Thoreau, N.M.

It's an exciting milestone for Valentina Sireech, sales and marketing director for Ute Tribal Enterprises LLC, one of the driving forces behind the Ute Crossing revitalization efforts.  Uintah Basin Standard Online

Natural gas processor to pay $3.54M over tribal land pollution

A gas processing company will modify or close some operations on historic tribal land, pay a civil penalty of $3.65 million and give a tribal trust fund $350,000 to settle a lawsuit filed four years ago.

The legal action had alleged QEP Field Services Co. failed to control hazardous air pollution at facilities in the Uintah Basin.

The company denied allegations raised in the lawsuit, but agreed to a consent decree entered in federal court Tuesday after "vigorous" settlement negotiations and to "avoid further costs and uncertainty of litigation." Salt Lake Tribune

Wildfires shutting down gas fields in Wyomin and Utah

Utah has active fires burning across about 180,000 acres, including the 20,000-acre Seeley Fire on the Manti-La Sal National Forest, about 15 miles from Huntington, southeast of Provo.

The fire threatened summer cabins, year-round homes and a historic ranger station and forced evacuations of several neighborhoods and youth camps. A significant oil and field in the area has also been shut down due to the proximity of the fire. Summit County Voice