DALLAS, April 22 (UPI) -- The energy bill passed by the U.S. House would put federal oil-shale lands in the West up for lease in 2007, but some critics say that is too fast.
The bill passed and sent to the Senate would require the interior secretary to draft leasing rules by the end of 2006 and hold the first lease sale within 180 days. Most of the nation's oil shale is in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
Although most experts agree oil shale has great potential, it has a checkered past in Colorado where Exxon Corp. closed its $5 billion project in 1982 because of high construction costs and declining demand for oil.
Interest has been rekindled by high oil prices and new technology being developed in Colorado by Shell Exploration and Production Co. They have developed a process that heats shale in the ground to recover oil and gas.
The federal government owns 80 percent of the land with oil-shale reserves.
Supporters of the legislation want to impose a deadline to get a leasing program started, but environmentalists and other critics are calling for a more cautious approach.
