SALT LAKE CITY — An energy company received federal approval Thursday to open one of Utah’s biggest natural-gas fields by agreeing to use new technology to drill under wild areas instead of on top of them.
The Bureau of Land Management’s approval of Bill Barrett Corp.’s multibillion-dollar proj ect reflects a deal the drilling company made with environmental groups to pull back from wild areas and limit well pads off the high rim of the Green River’s Desolation Canyon.
That canyon, a National Historic Landmark inside one of the Lower 48’s largest roadless areas, has seen little change since explorer John Wesley Powell remarked on “a region of wildest desolation” while boating the river in 1896. The area is populated by elk, deer and bighorn sheep, and bear maulings of river runners are not uncommon.
Along the river’s western ramparts, Denver-based Bill Barrett plans to use 120 well pads instead of the 538 it originally proposed, and it will drill directionally instead of straight down to get at the gas pockets deep beneath wild lands. It promised to hide wells into folds of the landscape and limit development activity during summer so rafters on the Green River can’t spy the company’s trucks or rigs.
The company also plans to drill fewer wells than planned — 626 instead of 807 — but still recover the full reserve from a region called the West Tava puts Plateau.
“We think it’s one of the most environmentally progressive natural-gas projects,” said Duane Zavadil, a vice president for Bill Barrett Corp.
Interior Secretary Ken Sala zar hailed the company’s compromise and called the agreement historic.
“It clearly provides for the orderly and balanced development of our nation’s energy supply while, at the same time, serving as an outstanding example of the fresh look of how we can better manage our energy resources,” Salazar said in a written statement.
Utah BLM director Juan Palma called the settlement “a big deal” that came after years of environmental review and negotiation.
