DENVER—Rep. Doug Lamborn wants the Interior Department to offer more land for companies to lease for research on how to commercially develop oil shale.
The Colorado Republican’s proposal to require more leases to be offered was part of a hearing before a House subcommittee Friday.
Companies already are drilling shale formations to extract liquid oil. But they’re still researching how to economically produce oil from oil shale, which contains kerogen that must be heated at high temperatures before it can release oil.
Six leases of federal land for oil shale research were awarded in 2007. Three applications for more leases of federal land in Colorado and Utah are under review.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said questions remain over how oil shale development would affect the West’s water supplies.
