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Show Tar sands task force hears plans The Utah Tar Sands Task Force last week heard representatives of five companies describe their processes and plans for development of the resource. Three of them plan to apply for a Department of Energy grant of up to $4 million to carry their plans to commercial com-mercial production of oil from tar sands, of which about 95 percent of the nation's known deposits are in Utah. The task force scheduled another meeting on March 27 at 9 a.m. in Room 303, State Capitol to hear other firms' proposals. Four are on that agenda so far. Any others wanting to make presentation should contact the Utah Energy Office. The task force, created to stimulate development of the state's tar sands, plans to lend state support to selected proposals in their bids for the DOE money. The three companies planning to seek the federal funds include Great National Corp., Minerals Research Corp. and Great Basin Hydrocarbons. Great National would use hot water and thermal processes developed at the ' University of Utah under supervision of Dr. Alex G. Oblad, professor of fuels engineering. The firm has 1,600 acres of leased private land containing tar sands near Sunnyside, Carbon County. This is part of a large deposit with an estimated four to six billion barrels of oil. Amoco holds 1,120 acres of it, the state 320 acres and the balance is federal. Great National plans a pilot demonstration plant first, to produce 80 barrels per day, then a 25,000 barrel commercial plant. Minerals Research has a 100 percent solvent extraction process, spraying the rock with methyl chloroform or other solvents to remove the organic content (oil). Clean sand is the only waste product, as in the U. of U. processes. This company also plans a pilot plant, aiming at a subsequent commercial facility producing 20,000 barrels per day at an estimated cost of $5.20 to $7.75 per barrel, excluding mining costs. Sohio National Resources Company also presented a solvent extraction technology, using kerosene. It controls 8,300 acres of Asphalt Ridge deposits near Vernal, plans an operating pilot plant by 1983 and a commercial plant by 1989, if such a step is decided upon. Illinois Institute of Technology would extract the oil with radio waves. In this process, electrical conductors would be inserted through boreholes into the tar sands deposit. Radio frequency signals through the conductors would heat the tar sands until the organic material was changed into a liquid for recovery in a gravity method. |