Over 8k Giveaway by Texas

Rich in oil and gas, Texas looks to geothermal
Fri Jan 12, 2007 4:48pm ET

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HOUSTON (Reuters) - Texas is known for oil and gas, but the state said on Friday it will sell its first leases for development of geothermal energy.

Tracts totaling 11,000 acres in state-owned coastal waters in the Gulf of Mexico will be up for lease on Tuesday as part of an annual winter oil and gas lease sale, the Texas General Land Office said in a news release.

The areas to be bid on are known to have hot geologic strata below the surface, the agency said.

The state hopes the land can be drilled and water circulated through the geothermal layer and turned into steam to help generate electricity.

"We're finally making the Texas heat pay off," Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said in the release, referring to the state's hot weather.

Some companies have expressed interest in the specific tracts being offered, and may start developing them by going through existing, played-out oil wells to reach the hot strata, Land Office spokesman Jim Suydam said.

All proceeds from such lease sales go into a state fund that helps pay for public education.

Minimum bids for the geothermal leases have been set at $2 an acre, much less than the state typically gets for oil and gas leases. A company last year paid $8,750 an acre for the right to explore a Texas tract for oil and gas.

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.

Now, we must ask ourselves how can Texas possibly afford to give a reduction of over $8,500 per acre for leasing of oil and gas exploration? Our eloquent and intelligent president, being from the state of Texas, is just a minor coinicidence, since he is a most trustworthy president who has never exemplified any behavior unbecoming to the most powerful leader of the greatest power in the world? What do you think?