US BLM Rejects ExxonMobil Bid For Oil Shale Research

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management rejected Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)’s bid to participate in a federal oil shale research program, a BLM spokeswoman said Friday.

The BLM seeks to allow oil companies to engage in oil shale recovery technology research and experimental production in federal leases located in Colorado and Utah. But on March 24, the agency deemed ExxonMobil’s proposal for a Colorado parcel ineligible because there was no plan to produce oil during the 10-year lease, nor to deal with the sodium bicarbonate deposits at the site, said BLM spokeswoman Celia Boddington. “We had concerns with the schedule,” Boddington said.
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