Oil Drilling Starts Again Near Newcastle

Newcastle, WY – A newly re-started oil drilling project could provide Weston County with an economic shot in the arm. Operations on the LAK ranch east of Newcastle resumed last month after being shut down a couple years ago due to financial difficulties at the company behind the project, Derek Oil and Gas Corporation. Derek has teamed with Ivanhoe Energy to resurrect the development. Dave Spencer, the Northeast Director for the Wyoming Business Council, says this couldn't come at a better time for the county, which has suffered declining revenues for the last 15 years. With tax revenue alone, Spencer says the project could generate $5-6 Million a year for Weston County. If a pilot well is successful, the companies predict they could produce 30 to 70 million barrels of oil, which, until recent technological advances, was impossible to recover. This project would be a re-birth of sorts for oil drilling in Weston County. Spencer says most of the county's oil was recovered in the 50's and 60's, with limited production occurring now.