RAWLINS - A Bureau of Land Management plan to allow one well for every 160 acres in the Atlantic Rim area would make development of the natural gas field impractical, the company proposing the project says.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. wants to drill wells every 80 acres, and people who work in the energy industry have joined the company in speaking against the BLM plan.

"We believe that is going to render the project technically unfeasible," Tom Clayson of Anadarko said during a public hearing here Thursday night. Anadarko officials have met with Rawlins business leaders expressing their concern about the 160-acre well spacing and BLM's phased development plans.

Around 150 people attended the public hearing sponsored by the BLM's Rawlins Field Office, where 26 individuals made formal public comments. All but six identified themselves as working in the energy sector, owning businesses that would be affected directly or indirectly by the project, or representing Carbon County in some manner.

By far, most statements supported Anadarko's plan for 80-acre well spacing.

The Atlantic Rim coal-bed natural gas project, located between Rawlins and Baggs, involves leases held by Anadarko, Warren Resources and Double Eagle Petroleum. The draft environmental impact statement on the project calls for the companies to drill up to 1,800 wells in order to recover coal-bed natural gas plus, an additional 200 conventional natural gas wells may be drilled in the Atlantic Rim project area. Drilling is expected to last about 20 years, with a project life span of 30 to 50 years.

At one time the project called for up to 3,800 wells, but it has since been scaled back to a smaller area and less intensive development field.

The BLM recommends allowing the development in stages with the 270,080-acre region divided into three parts. As outlined by BLM, development would begin in the central area, followed by work in the northern portion and finally development in the southern part of the project area. This would provide the most protection for the environment, including effects on wildlife, the agency contends. The area has critical sage grouse habitat and big game winter range, according to BLM documents.

As recommended by BLM, wells would be allowed on 160-acre spacing in most of the project area. By dividing the project into thirds, the BLM would allow development of a maximum of 925 wells at a time. The proposal also calls for construction or improvements to about 1,000 miles of roads to serve the well sites.

The 160-acre well spacing preferred by BLM was highly criticized during the hearing.

Several speakers said they believe phased development would increase impacts and has potential to harm property owners in both the northern and southern project areas by potentially drawing the gas away from their holdings.

David Nightingale, president of Hiland, a company that provides services to the oil and gas industry, opposed the "added restrictions" set forth by the BLM, saying they are "going to cause delays in development, and it also is going to affect the work flow process in this area."

He drew applause by saying he supports "less stipulations, smart management of these resources, and jobs that not only start in the short term, but stay in the long term."

The BLM itself was divided over the issue. Its Reservoir Development Group in Casper strongly and repeatedly recommended the 80-acre spacing in order to effectively drain the economically recoverable methane in the field.

But Dave Simons, team leader for the project at the BLM Rawlins Field Office, determined that the 160-acre spacing would provide the best balance between protecting the natural resources on the ground with extracting the underground natural gas.

Few people Thursday night made statements regarding environmental or wildlife impacts, although several of the oilfield workers provided anecdotal evidence that wildlife are not disturbed by development. However, Donal O'Toole, director of the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab, cited effects on big game in the Pinedale area as a result of development in the Jonah Field. And he added, "We have already seen some large wildlife loses in the Atlantic Rim area."

He predicted there "will be unintended consequences if you allow development to continue on this scale."

Erik Molvar of Biodiversity Conservation Alliance also cited concerns for wildlife habitat and said the 270,000-acre project area - which is roughly nine miles wide and 48 miles long - is not isolated but just a part of the overall development picture. Other oil and gas projects are either ongoing or proposed in contiguous regions of Carbon and Sweetwater counties, extending south into Colorado.

"It is going to be an unbroken skein of full-field development that stretches for (hundreds of) miles. That's pretty excessive," he said.

Anadarko is expected to spend about $1 billion to drill the wells and develop related facilities for recovery of an estimated 1.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The company has projected 500 jobs, an annual payroll of $22 million, and $96 million in county property tax revenues over the life of the project.

Anadarko hopes to begin field production later this year.