A tiny oil company has snapped up leasing rights to a half-million acres in central Utah that it says could yield a billion barrels or more of oil.
Geologists are calling it a spectacular find – the largest onshore discovery in at least 30 years, located in a region of complex geology long abandoned for exploration by major oil companies. It’s turning out to contain high-quality oil already commanding a premium at refineries.
With the secret out, industry players expect a bidding war to break out at the next Utah leasing auction, set for May 17 in Salt Lake City. At today’s prices, the oil reserve could bring Utah $5.6 billion in royalties, state auditors conservatively estimate.
The find, 130 miles south of Salt Lake City, was made by Wolverine Gas & Oil Corp., a privately held company with 25 employees based in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Wolverine’s test well hit “pay” in late 2003, and by May 2004 it started producing from a single deposit estimated to contain 100 million to 200 million barrels of oil.
LAKEWOOD
Belmar project wins New Urbanism honor
The conversion of a dying mall into a bustling downtown district in Lakewood is one of 14 projects honored for excellence in design by the Congress for New Urbanism.
Belmar, still under construction by Denver developer Continuum Partners, snared a 2005 Charter Award last week.
The $750 million, 104-acre project at South Wadsworth Boulevard and West Alameda Avenue features a mix of homes, offices, restaurants and shops on what was once Villa Italia mall.
BOULDER
Study: Spyware found on 90% of home PCs
Nearly nine of every 10 U.S. consumer computers are infected with spyware, according to a report released Wednesday by Boulder-based Webroot Software Inc.
The report also said websites that spread adware, a form of spyware that causes pop-up ads that can slow computers and hijack homepages, generate about $2 billion in annual revenue.
Spyware ranges from innocuous cookies, which are used to track user preferences, to more nefarious programs that steal passwords used for fraud and identity theft.
SEATTLE
Microsoft to license ideas to entrepreneurs
Microsoft said Wednesday that it would begin to license its home-grown ideas to venture capital firms and entrepreneurs. The move, the company said, is an effort to open up its technology to outsiders and to exploit its storehouse of intellectual property.
The new program, called Microsoft Intellectual Property Ventures, is intended to foster more amicable relations between the big software company and startups that have often regarded Microsoft as a threat.
NEW YORK
Former CFO denies stealing from Tyco
Mark Swartz, former chief financial officer of Tyco International Ltd., testified in his own defense Wednesday and denied charges that he stole millions of dollars of the company’s money through unauthorized pay and loans.
“I never stole money from Tyco,” Swartz told his lawyer Charles Stillman. “I never agreed with (former Tyco chief executive officer) Dennis Koz lowski or anyone at Tyco to steal money from Tyco.”
LEXINGTON, Ky.
Valvoline buying Car Brite from E&A
Valvoline, a division of Ashland Inc., said Wednesday that it has agreed to purchase Car Brite, a marketer of automotive reconditioning products, from E&A Industries of Indianapolis for an undisclosed amount of cash.
Car Brite’s products – including cleaners, paint restorers and protectants, paints and dyes – are sold through a network of more than 100 distributors.
TOPEKA, Kan.
Judge recusal rejected in Westar execs’ retrial
A federal appeals court has refused to disqualify the judge in the retrial of two former top executives of Westar Energy Inc. accused of fraud, money laundering and circumventing internal controls.
Attorneys for David Wittig and Douglas Lake had argued that U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson was biased against the defense team and should remove herself. But on Tuesday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver issued a ruling denying the request. That clears the way for the retrial to begin as early as Monday.
NEW YORK
Kravis to help run Columbia biz school
Henry Kravis, a founding partner of buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., was named to help run the 89-year- old Columbia Business School.
Kravis, a 1969 graduate of the New York school, was appointed co-chair of the school’s Board of Overseers, Columbia officials said Wednesday in a statement.
SUNNYVALE, Calif.
Yahoo brings video search tool online
Yahoo Inc. shifted its online video search tool out of the test phase Wednesday, marking another step in the Internet powerhouse’s plan to use other media to lure visitors to its website.
As part of the upgrade, Yahoo is indexing more video from several media sources, including CBS News and MTV.
PALO ALTO, Calif.
H-P cuts 1,900 jobs in printing unit
Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s largest printer manufacturer, eliminated more than 1,900 jobs at its printing and imaging unit to help stem profit declines.
Employees in the U.S. and Puerto Rico last month were offered voluntary severance packages, said Monica Sarkar, a spokeswoman for the Palo Alto-based company. Most cuts will be at the company’s Boise, Idaho, and Corvallis, Ore., offices.
DENVER
Hyatt, Marriott, Denver Partnership
Ed Bucholtz has been named general manager of the Grand Hyatt Denver Downtown, replacing John Schafer, who has been named general manager of the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, which is scheduled to open in December. … John Garth of White Lodging Services and manager of the 279-room Denver Marriott South, was named general manager of the year at Marriott International’s recent global conference. … Donna Evans has been named director of communications and resource development at the Downtown Denver Partnership.
