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Show svJ 4 Uwu Volume 2 Number 39 . ..,5- - 0v iocky Mountain OIL & RAINING JOURNAL DECEMBER 14, 1970 25 Cents Per Copy Supreme Court rules against old claims on oil shale lands WASHINGTON . The Supreme Court has ruled 4 to 2 against private claims for up to one-fift- h of the governments vast oil shale holdings in the West. Potentially billions of dollars were at stake in the dispute over the development rights. The decision leaves room for private interests to continue their fight, but the heart of the ruling is a strong endorsement of the Interior Departments position. Justice William 0. Douglas, speaking for the four-ma- n located in Colorado. The claims were canceled in the 1930s by the Interior Department on the ground there had been insufficient work done on the location. Years later holders of the claims went to court to try to assert rights of possession. Federal district and appeals courts in Colorado ruled against the government. But the high court reversed their decisions. The ruling involved the General interpretation of Mining Act of 1872 which Department under the 1872 law. Justices Hugo L. Black, William J. Brennan Jr. and Harry A. Blackmun joined Douglas. Chief Justice Warren Burger and Justice Potter Stewart dissented. They said in a one paragraph opinion that they would have affirmed the ' judgment of lower federal courts. Justice John M. Harlan, Byron R. White and Thurgood Marshall did not participate. Douglas opinion said the private claimants could pursue in lower courts their argument that various Interior Department provided that until a patent is actions had nullified the issued for a minreral location on proceedings in which their claims U.S. owned lands the claimant has were voided. Also, he said, the to perform at least $100 worth of private companies could argue labor a year and $500 over all. All that various procedural errors by The test case involved six. the claims involved in the case the agency invalidated the groups of claims to oil shale were canceled by the Interior cancellations. majority, said claims to mineral locations on lands belonging to the United States are lost when token or no improvement work has been done. i Governors oppose Nixon efforts SANTA FE, N.M. Governors four states sent a telegram last of week to President Nixon saying his efforts to control oil and gasoline prices are contrary to his new federalism objectives. The telegram said state regulatory agencies, without regard to price, have administered oil and gas conservation practices effectively and created' dependable supplies to support the national security and economy in time of war, peace and international crisis. The President's actions are completely in opposition to the new federalism he has proposed in that they will place the individual states in a secondary position rather than a primary position, said Gov. Dewey Bartlett, Signing the telegram with Bartlett at the concluding session of the annual meeting of the Interstate Oil Compact D-Ok- la. 33-sta- te Commission were governors Preston Smith, DTex.; Stanley K. and David F. Hathaway, , R-Wy- o., Cargo, With an objective R-N.- of reducing crude recent oil and gasoline President Nixon earlier prices, ordered tthe Interior Department to replace individual states as the regulator of production from offshore federal leases. He also opened the way for increased oil Continued on Page 4 Mining of thermal power vital THE GEYSERS, Calif. When a well taps oil sand, the owner of the well may look forward to a return over a period of years limited by the amount of oil in the sand. The economic life may run from less than one year to more than 20 years, declining all the while' to a less and less rewarding rate as the sand is emptied of its oil. On the other hand, when a well taps steam, the owner may look forward to a productive life that is incomprehensible in terms of difference of which other companies are showing increased awareness. Out in front is the three company combine of Magma Power Co. of Los Angeles; Thermal Power Co. of San Francisco, and Union Oil Co. of California. Union serves as operator for the group, which presently is the only producer with a sales outlet. Two other companies have his own life span, to some completed steam wells but are not experts years. Inernational, Inc. of Bakersfield running STEAM GEYSERS at The Geysers, Calif, where Magma Thermo and Union Oil are working on a project to generate electricity from powerful steam wells. Plant in background generates 55,000 kilowatts of power. The Geysers area some 90 miles north of San Francisco. Its a according to as much as 11,000 yet marketing. They are Geothermal Resources So much for one difference and the Signal Companies of Los between steam and oil. Its a Angeles. difference that isnt lost on a Others who have a land handful of companies actively in or near Geysers-Geothermfield or have developing steam production in position al otherwise indicated interest include Cordero Mining Co., a subsidiary of Sun Oil Co., Philadelphia; Getty Oil Co., Los Angeles; Occidntal Petroleum Corp., Los Angeles, and Texfel Petroleum Corp., Los Angeles. Why .the interest in natural steam, which commonly occurs in belts of volcanic activity and makes its presence known in volcanoes, geysers and boiling springs? Steam under pressure in the earth is a form of raw energy. Once harnessed, it may be used to turn turbine blades to generate electricity. Oddly, its this quality of steam to generate electricity that is on the one hand steam's attractiveness and on the other its Achilles Heel. The bottleneck through which Continued on Page 6 |