Taxpayer group irked by GOP plan to subsidize oil shale research

DENVER — A Texas Republican’s proposal to subsidize research on developing oil from oil shale is prompting objections from taxpayer advocates.

A handful of companies have leases on federal land in Colorado and Utah for research on oil shale. Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado says it’s a promising energy resource.

Rep. Ralph Hall introduced a bill this week that proposes $10 million in annual subsidies for fiscal years 2013-2017 for oil shale research.

Taxpayers for Common Sense co-founder Jill Lancelot says her group generally opposes any subsidies, but she says subsidies for oil shale are particularly worrisome because companies are still trying to find how to extract oil from it in a viable way. Unlike shale oil resources, oil shale must be heated to extremely high temperatures before getting oil.