On October 20, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar, announced that the Department will invite submission of applications for a second round of RD&D oil shale leases.\u00a0 A notice will be published soon in the Federal Register.\u00a0 Companies will have 60 days to submit their applications for up to 160 acres.\u00a0 During round one, 5 RD&D leases were granted in Colorado’s Piceance Basin.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lessees would need to demonstrate feasibility for commercial\u00a0development \u00a0to qualify for an additional 480 contiguous acres.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n