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Show Drilling results kept highly confidental NEW CASTLE The Geothermal Division of Union Oil, which recently completed a 3,000 foot test drill here, has pulled up and left the area, saying that work is completed and information published in a local newspaper was hearsay and misleading. At the present time, there is no accurate information available revealing the results of the geothermal tests, according to a spokesman of Union Oil. "The drillers of Union Oil Company refused to give us any information about what they were doing after a reporter published information about the drilling," commented Boyd Christensen, who leased the land to Union Oil of Santa Rosa, Calif., over five years ago. According to Christensen, any information published in area publications dealing with the statistics of the well cannot be considered accurate, because Union Oil has chosen to keep all information relating to their find confidential. Any information, according to the Union Oil spokesman, would have to be taken totally on speculation. The Company upholds an extremely tight policy of never revealing any test information publicly, he added. "The only people who have any idea about what is really down there is Union Qil, and they aren't sayng anything anymore," said Christensen. He also expla ined tha t there is no way of even checking the tables to find out temperature readings, because the muds being used can be changed, which effects the readings significantly. The only people qualified to give an accurate reading of the drilling would be an experienced geologist or a chemist, explained Christensen. All that is known is that Union Oil completed a 3,000 foot drill and inserted a two-inch wide pipe in to read the temperatures on returns. The Company has now removed all drilling equipment, sealed the site and tightly locked it, making it impossible for anyone lo read the temperatures or see if the site could be used for commerical power purposes. Christensen also explained that the Company has leased most of the mineral rights in an approximately two mile radius around New Castle, and they also have leased a portion of Bureau of Land Management forest land. If the hydrothermal well proves to be productive, it would be extemely good for Union Oil, said Christensen. It probably wouldn't result in bringing in many jobs, he added. But it would make it possible for a power company to come in and purchase the energy produced from the well. |