Published: July 8, 2024 |

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Federal land managers plan to sell nearly 250 acres of public land in east-central Nevada to the state’s only crude oil refinery, the Eagle Springs Refinery, operated by Foreland Refining Corporation. Foreland Refining Corporation was acquired by Sky Quarry Inc, a Utah-based crude petroleum and natural gas company, in 2022.

The Bureau of Land Management published a draft environmental assessment detailing the potential sale of hundreds of acres of public land roughly 64 miles southwest of Ely in Railroad Valley to allow for future expansion of the refinery.

The Eagle Springs Refinery currently holds a right-of-way permit to operate a petroleum refinery on 40 acres of public land, according to Nevada Current. The sale would transfer those 40 acres of public land underlying the existing oil refinery, as well as about 209 acres of adjacent land, from BLM management to private ownership.

For the past six years, the United States has produced more crude oil than any other country, and nationwide production has risen even more quickly in recent months, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Nevada is one of the least productive states for crude oil extraction, producing less than 220,000 barrels last year. Much of that oil is sourced from Nevada’s Railroad Valley, where it’s used to make asphalt, diesel fuel, and other petroleum products.

The potential expansion of Nevada’s only crude oil refinery could be part of a growing trend. Most of the crude oil produced in the United States is refined in the U.S., according to the EIA. Nationally, crude oil production companies are also expanding their refinery capacity, as U.S. crude oil production skyrockets. In 2023, the U.S. increased its refining capacity by 2 percent for the second consecutive year.

Federal analysts say oil drilling in the U.S. has declined, but advances in technology have increased well productivity, enabling U.S. producers to extract more crude oil from new wells drilled.

Federal land managers noted the sale is located in a rural area and does not include any new surface disturbances, arguing the land sale itself would not negatively impact Nevada communities, including the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe reservation, located about 20 miles from the refinery.

In October 2022, Sky Quarry purchased Foreland Refining Corporation, which is engaged in the refining of heavy crude oil into diesel and other petroleum products at its Eagle Springs Refinery located near Ely, Nevada. Eagle Springs currently processes approximately 480,000 bbls of oil annually and management plans to commission the refinery to process the waste oil from the PR Spring facility, aiming to boost production to one million bbls of sustainable oil per year.

Source: Reno Gazette Journal

Sky Quarry is an environmental remediation company, founded with the mission to solve the problem created by waste asphalt shingles. Its purpose led mission is to conserve resources through recycling, decreasing landfill waste, reducing emissions, and dependence on foreign oil, and embed long term sustainability.

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