GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—One of three companies with federal leases to research and develop oil shale in Colorado says it plans to start testing its technology early next year.
American Shale Oil says it’s building a processing facility west of Rifle in western Colorado. The company expects to employ about two dozen people during the research phase.
American Shale Oil was granted a 160-acre lease on federal land in 2007 for research into developing western Colorado’s abundant oil shale deposits. Utah and Wyoming also have oil shale.
Companies are trying to find a way to economically extract the oil from shale, which requires heating it above ground after mining or in the ground. Crtics say developing oil shale would consume too much water and harm the environment.
