Three natural gas producers have asked for permission from the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) office in Rock Springs, WY, to drill more wells in Sweetwater County, WY, fields — an area of the state that the governor has tried to protect from drilling.

Yates Petroleum Corp., Davis Petroleum Corp. and Pinnacle Gas Resources Inc. want to drill another 58 gas wells within the Red Desert’s Luman Rim project area. The 20,800-acre project area is located about 25 miles north of Rock Springs, WY, near Red Lake. The site is southwest of the Luman Butte and south of the Buffalo Hump Basin.

According to BLM, eight gas wells already have been drilled within the Luman Rim project area. The three producers’ new wells would have a 160-acre spacing density and would tap the Mesa Verde formation at depths of around 10,125 feet. According to the proposal, the project could yield up to $18 million in severance and other tax revenues to Wyoming.

Separately, Davis Petroleum has proposed drilling another 13 wells on its leases in the Puma Prospect gas field, which is near Mountain View, WY, in western Sweetwater County. BLM said two exploratory gas wells have been drilled within the 9,600-acre project area, and associated infrastructure also has been built. Davis Petroleum would drill 13 additional wells in the Frontier and Muddy formations over the next five years if its proposal is approved. The wells would have a 160-acre spacing density and be drilled to a depth of around 13,800 feet.

BLM said the Davis Petroleum wells could generate about $19.5 million in severance and tax revenues to Wyoming over the life of the project.

Earlier this month BLM opened for comment a plan by a subsidiary of Devon Energy Corp. to conduct 3-D seismic testing on the Baxter Shale, which is south of Rock Springs, WY, in Sweetwater County (see Daily GPI, May 15).

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal in February criticized Devon’s project in a letter to BLM. He said then that Sweetwater County, a popular hunting and recreational area, was not the place for a small project that could turn into a large-scale development (see Daily GPI, Feb. 19).

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