Diggin' for oil

UPTON COUNTY It may have only been a matter of time before someone found a way to go mining for "black gold."

That's what a Sheridan, Wyo., company is planning to do with the old McCamey Field.

"It's a very interesting project," McCamey Mayor Sherry Phillips said of what Rock Well Petroleum has planned just east of her city along Highway 67.

The project involves drilling a slant tunnel to below once-unreachable oil deposits, Phillips said. Gravity will then pull the oil down into the tunnel, where it would be pumped to the surface.

In the past, the price of oil hadn't justified expensive projects to try to reclaim oldfields.

"Now it does," Phillips said.

Rock Well acquired 10,000 acres of mineral rights near McCamey in February, according to a company news release. The field is estimated to have 600 million barrels of original oil in place.

Rock Well's area offices would be located in Crane, Phillips said. But many workers would live in McCamey recreational vehicle areas.

Phillips expects to have enough room for the workers, the number of which remains uncertain.

"If I have to stack 'em in my backyard, we'll stack 'em in my backyard," she said.

Workers could also find places to live in McCamey's expanded motel, though Phillips said it's nearly always full already. A 70-unit apartment complex is also planned for South Crane.

Rock Well's Joe McPhie said the company would have more to say once fund-raising and initial public offering issues were resolved.

"We're excited about coming down to the area. We've met with the folks in McCamey. We hope to talk about it soon enough," McPhie said, referring further questions to investor and public relations official Phoebe Buckland. Efforts to reach Buckland were not successful.

The McCamey Field project is expected to last 20 years, Phillips said.

While the city agreed to give Rock Well six trailer spaces for its use, Phillips expects it to get the investment back.

"They're people are probably going to want to eat and buy gas and, maybe, buy flowers," she said. "It's always a trickle-down effect."