Plan for protecting the natural gas resources, Naval Oil Shale Reserves No. 3, Garfield County, Colorado
The Department of Energy's plan for protecting the natural gas resources of the Naval Oil Shale Reserve (NOSR) is described. It is proposed that one or more confirmation wells be drilled on NOSR-3 at the earliest practical data to verify the existence of natural gas on that Reserve in commercially producible quantities. If successful, a total of 24 wells are planned for NOSR-3 to complete the drilling program. Estimates extrapolated from the Northwest Exploration experience suggest wells completed in the Wasatch formation would yield about 200 thousand cubic feet of gas per day (MCF/D) in the first year of operation, and produce at a declining rate for 15 to 20 years. These wells are estimated to cost about $500,000, an amount which would be returned to the US Treasury as revenue from the sale of produced gas in approximately two years. The proposed communitization/unit agreements between Northwest Exploration, or other lessees of land adjacent to NOSR-3 in the buffer zone, and the Government would have several benefits. First, they would ensure that the Government is compensated for any NOSR-3 gas produced on or off the Reserve. The second benefit relates to gas underlying federal lands in the buffer zone. It is likely that some of that gas could be drained by wells producing from adjacent private lands. Communitization/unit agreements between the Department of Energy and federal lessees would generate royalty payments on the gas produced from the federal lands out-leased by the Department of the Interior. Finally, these agreements in conjunction with the proposed drilling program for NOSR-3 would permit elimination of the buffer zone, as the government's interest would be protected, and permit full development of that area. It is presently estimated that about ten such agreements would be required. The plan was accepted by the Department of Justice.
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Protection, Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Washington, DC. Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves
- OSTI ID:
- 6729485
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/EP-0067; ON: DE83001437
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions of document are illegible
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
NATURAL GAS
RESERVES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
OIL SHALE DEPOSITS
COLORADO
ECONOMICS
GEOLOGY
LEASING
LEGAL ASPECTS
NATURAL GAS WELLS
PUBLIC LANDS
WELL SPACING
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
RESOURCES
USA
WELLS
030100* - Natural Gas- Reserves- (-1989)
040100 - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Reserves & Exploration- (-1989)
294003 - Energy Planning & Policy- Natural Gas
294004 - Energy Planning & Policy- Oil Shales & Tar Sands