On Monday, the director of Utah's Division of Oil, Gas & Mining approved plans for the first commercial U.S. oil sands project, the AP reports.
Director John Baza gave Canadian company Earth Energy Resources Inc. a permit to mine a 62-acre pit in eastern Utah, despite objections from environmental activists. According to a Canadian Newspaper that covered oil sands projects in Alberta, from well to tank, a barrel of oil from the oil sands creates three times more greenhouse gas than a barrel pumped from the ground.
Earth Energy is still trying to raise $35 million for the project. The company promises it “will leave Utah's oil sands as clean as beach sand after processing with a citrus-based solvent.”
Learn more about Canadian oil sands projects.
–Erin Beresini
Oil barrels photo courtesy of L.C.Nøttaasen on Flickr.