Saturday, August 30, 2008
835 - An exotic energy world in southwest Wyoming
Wyoming is a land of mountains, deserts and high plains.
Not sure that the correct adjective would be “exotic” but in certain places, the man-made creations for energy development can provide amazing sights.
Many of those places are in southwestern Wyoming.
Central Wyoming residents have discovered a short cut route that takes some 20 minutes off their drives to Salt Lake City. A side benefit is that it takes you through some of the state’s more interesting energy projects.
Instead of going south at Farson to I-80 and then west to Evanston, this route heads west into a vast open area. The world’s largest trona deposits are south of it and the huge Jonah Field natural gas deposit is north of it.
In-between is the billion-dollar ExxonMobil Shute Creek plant. It is located truly in the middle of nowhere.
One of the most rare elements in the world is helium and 25 percent of the world’s supply comes from that plant. Helium is a byproduct along with CO2 from scrubbing sour gas from the Madden Formation wells near LaBarge. Seven different gasses are separated at that facility.
Shute was not its original name, by the way. The real name is not publicly mentionable.
Earlier this month, Devon Energy announced plans for a $100 million project to pipe CO2 from Shute all the way to Riverton. They will pump carbon dioxide into mature oil wells and then extract enough oil to make the project profitable.
That $120 per barrel oil price is the incentive for this incredibly ambitious project.
And of course prior to getting to this route, we drive over South Pass and that vista gives you a spectacular view of the Jack Morrow Hills in the Red Desert, where environmentalists and energy companies have been sparring for ten years over the development of thousands of natural gas wells.
Next big fight in that region may be over somebody’s idea to build a field of big windmills on South Pass. A few decades ago someone tried to build a power line over the historic pass and it was throttled by the public outcry.
What will they say about hundreds of big windmills perched there in one of the windiest places in Wyoming?
Whenever I go to Farson down an absolutely straight-line road of more than 20 miles of desert high plains, a project called Wagon Wheel comes to mind.
Back in the 1970s, engineers knew there was gas deep in those Jonah Field formations but could not figure how to get it out.
In their infinite wisdom, the Atomic Energy Commission planned to detonate underground nuclear bombs to break loose the gas!
The late U. S. Representative Teno Roncalio and a young editor of the Lander newspaper campaigned hard against the project and somehow, people came to their senses, and the project was scrapped.
Then it was up to two fellows named McMurry and Martin from Casper to figure out how to tap into those deep sources of gas and the rest is history.
Our southwesterly route also takes us to the lovely little town of Opal (pronounced O’-pal), which features hubs for the huge natural gas pipelines that head off into the infinite distance.
A company called EPD owned by Houston billionaire Dan L. Duncan has built a big new facility north of Opal with rumors of another six to be built on up the road.
As we continue on this shortcut route, we head to Kemmerer and Elkol, where the Naughton 715-megawatt power station exists. It is powered by coal from the old-time Kemmerer Coal Company.
A beneficiary of that old coal wealth is John Kemmerer III who moved back to Wyoming to buy the Jackson Hole Ski Area. His family has pumped millions of dollars into it, making it one of the premier resorts in the Rockies.
From there it is south to I-80 and past huge windmills that lead into Evanston, home of a 20-year energy boom concerning something called the Overthrust Belt.
My friends Rusty and Carrie Fife say that town is still growing and developing. From a sleepy little burg three decades ago, the town now is one of the nicest in the state. Their River Walk is a highlight.
Wyoming is full of these unique back road areas, which at first glance, may not seem too interesting.
But if you wander farther afield you can find yourself in the midst of an exotic and fantastic landscape that is having a huge impact on our country’s energy fortunes.
|
