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Show Anschutz claims legal right to drill I Grand county land I The president of Anschutz Corp., Denver, feels his firm has the legal right I to drill for oil and gas in Grand County's j Book Cliffs despite a "roadless" designation designa-tion in the area. I Philip F. Anschutz, in a letter to Utah Governor Scott Matheson released Mon- I day, addressed the legalities of blocking I the drilling permits in addition to environmental concerns. He said an j earlier attorney general's opinion stated . that prior mineral lesee could "not be I denied access to explore and develop its j leases." 1 However, Gov. Matheson has request- ed a new opinion from the attorney . general's office on alternatives available I to the state should it decide to block the j pending applications by Anschutz for I permits to drill oil and gas wells. He has I promised the company a decision on the state's course of action in this matter in one week. I $250 Million Royalty Anschutz's letter states the oil explor- I ation project, called the "Uinta Pros- ' pect," could "generate well over $250 million in royalty to the state of Utah, without consideration to escalation of I market pricing conditions and could I potentially reach $1 biUion." I He noted that the company has I already expended about $7 million to J evaluate the prospects of finding oil and . gas on its leases. Rent paid to the state I on the leases since 1971 has totaled about $1 million. I Although Anschutz began acquiring I its leases in 1971, now totaling 275,000 J acres, the State Land Board designated about $65,000 acres in the heart of the I tract as "roadless area" in 1975. Mr. I Anschutz stated that the bulk of the oil. according to geological surveys, is located under the western portion of the I lease block and in the roadless area. The potential value of known "Bitumi- j nous Sand deposits" of oil in the area is i second in size on the North American continent only to Athabasca" in Canada, I he said. I Reserve the Area ' Anschutz charged the state with "attempting to reserve the area for a few i big game hunters and one livestock j operator, without any consideration to I the economic benefits to the state from I continued rental and royalty payments, ' employment opportunities and the ener- . gy shortage." ' . He continued, 'These accumulated benefits affect many thousands of Utah j citizens." I Regarding the environmental con- ' cerns he said, "oil and gas exploration ! has been proven compatible time and again with all forms of land use currently being exercised in this area." j The position of Utah officials has been I that any exploration would necessitate ' roads in the area, thus degrading the environs due to usage by trespassing J all-terrain vehicles. i Mr. Anschutz said, however, that due j to the topography, the company's pro- I posed initial access route would give I "controlled access to less than 3 percent ' of the total roadless area." ! Anschutz is planning its first well, at a i cost of about $2 million, sometime this fall, company officials stated last week. State blockage of the drilling permits I could delay any exploration of the area ' indefinitely, however, as Anschutz has ! indicated it would take the matter to court. i |
