Some energy industry participants in next week’s Wyoming-led oil and gas lease auction are wondering if the Wyoming Outdoor Council will try to scuttle the sale, or some activist billionaire for that matter.

Electronic auctions to buy oil and gas leases on state-owned land can be challenging.

Anonymous bidders in auctions operated over a private online network by Wyoming’s Office of State Land Investments don’t always tell the full story of an entity’s ulterior motives.

Take, for example, a July 12, 2023, lease auction when executives with Casper-based oil and gas firm Kirkwood Cos. ran into such a problem.

This is when top executives of Kirkwood and land technicians who understood the value of geologic formations and how to switch over to a backup computer in case it’s needed huddled in the conference room of the family run oil and gas business to bid on a few leases in a 2-minute auction process.

Steve Kirkwood, owner and partner, was at the table, as was No. 2 executive Steve Degenfelder, land manager for the company with more than 3,500 wells in six Rocky Mountain states.

The auction goes quick, and there is little time to think about who is bidding on what, or by how much.

Kirkwood had its eyes on a total of 1,280 acres covering two tracts of land in Sublette County, Degenfelder said.

“There’s an enormous accumulation of gas there,” Degenfelder told Cowboy State Daily of his company’s appetite for oil and natural gas land in the state’s auction.

Rich In Gas

The Bureau of Land Management says the Sublette County land where Kirkwood had interest has one of the richest concentrations of natural gas in the U.S., currently estimated at more than 25 trillion cubic feet.

Kirkwood had its eyes on two tracts in what is technically known as the west flank of the Pinedale (Wyoming) anticline natural gas field in the Upper Green River Basin of west-central Wyoming, located in dusty sagebrush territory just south of Pinedale.

Environmental conservation groups have a disdain for exploration and drilling in this region.

The Nature Conservancy calls the Upper Green River as Wyoming’s take on the Serengeti plains of East Africa, a natural bottleneck where wildlife moves through ancient migratory pathways.

The migration of pronghorn and mule deer from summer ranges in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem mountain highlands to winter stomping grounds in the Upper Green River Basin’s sagebrush-covered valley is one of the longest in the continental United States.

“We were bidding on some tracts, and we became the successful bidder,” said Degenfelder, whose suspicions on the auction were aroused when he was contacted by an official with the Wyoming Outdoor Council who left a voicemail on his phone.

The senior official with the statewide conservation advocacy group wanted to know if Degenfelder would be willing to give up the leases.

When Degenfelder returned the call, he was told that the two tracts that his company bid on were in an “antelope migratory bottleneck” and that drilling on the land could impact the pronghorn who live there.

The Wyoming Outdoor Council official also admitted to Degenfelder that it was his group that had engaged in a bidding war with Kirkwood and had significantly driven up the price of the two tracts.

Driving Up Costs

“We estimated that we overpaid on the land by $14,000,” Degenfelder said.

“We would have gotten it for $6 an acre had the Wyoming Outdoor Council not been bidding,” he said. “This is very exploratory acreage, and that $19 an acre doesn’t sound like much, but this is for exploration, which is the first thing you need to do before getting a lease.

“There is concern for billionaires like (Michael) Bloomberg or (Bill) Gates or (Warren) Buffett putting in bids for these leases with no intention of ever developing them for oil and gas.”

This could wreak havoc on a state like Wyoming, which depends on oil and gas revenue for funding everything from education to penitentiaries.

Carl Fisher, executive director of Wyoming Outdoor Council, did not return phone calls or emails seeking comment on his conversancy group’s strategy in last July’s auction and whether the group would attempt to engage in the same type of bidding process in next week’s scheduled auction.

Degenfelder said that the OSLI turned down his company’s request to be reimbursed in the land auction for overpayment of several thousands of dollars.

“Our request was turned down,” he said.

Dianna Wolvin, the OSLI senior lands management specialist, did not return phone calls or emails seeking comment about the dispute with Kirkwood.

Emergency Help

This week, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon ran interference on the issue with the hope that this doesn’t happen again.

The governor signed an emergency order to implement changes in next week’s state-led oil and gas lease auction to keep environmental activist groups like the Wyoming Outdoor Council from driving up bids and taking energy-rich properties out of the hands of developers.

During the 2024 Legislature, lawmakers passed State House Bill 141, which redefined qualified bidders.

The State Board of Land Commissioners approved the rule changes at its June 6 meeting as part of its regular business.

Since the auction is scheduled for July 8-10, the board also approved emergency rules to implement the changes before the auction to ferret out unqualified bidders.

The new law requires the OSLI, which runs the auction three times a year, to determine a qualified bidder and nip in the bud any shenanigans in advance.

Not The First Time

This isn’t the first time that the OSLI has encountered problems with outsiders trying to hurt Wyoming’s interests.

James Magagna, vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, told Cowboy State Daily that a similar problem erupted about 15 years ago when the Jon Marvel-backed Western Watersheds Project in Hailey, Idaho, attempted to foil his bid to renew leases on state-owned land that had been in his family for more than a century.

“It happened to me personally,” Magagna said.

Magagna had used his state-leased land in the southeast corner of Sublette County to graze more than 8,000 sheep, but the Western Watersheds Project tried to outbid him because the group believes in “livestock-free public lands.”

Marvel retired in 2014 from the group he formed in 1993, where he became a major player in the legal fight over protecting the sage grouse and its habitat. Marvel also gained a reputation for bidding against ranchers for grazing rights.

He drove up the prices of those grazing rights through legal battles with ranchers over their operations’ effects on water quality and wildlife habitat.

Eventually, the Legislature came to the aid of Magagna.

“What saved me was the fact that Western Watershed wasn’t properly registered to do business in the state of Wyoming. They are now, but not then,” Magagna said.

“We eventually got Wyoming legislation passed that said if you bid on state trust lands to lease, then you must have a necessary use for the land, like a business for grazing livestock,” he said. “Based on my experience, perhaps legislation is still needed.”

Pat Maio can be reached at pat@cowboystatedaily.com.

As the first woman to direct the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Angi Bruce said she’ll make wildlife habitat a priority when she takes the helm in September.

A looming concern for Wyoming wildlife is “loss of habitat, both quality and quantity,” Bruce told Cowboy State Daily on Friday afternoon shortly after Gov. Mark Gordon announced her appointment.

“We’re seeing these effects on sage grouse, mule deer and other species,” Bruce said.

She said she’s looking forward to working with landowners, non-governmental conservation groups and others to continue Game and Fish habitat preservation and restoration projects across Wyoming.

Gordon picked Bruce from three internal finalists to replace Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik, who plans to retire in September.

The other finalists were Rick King, chief of the department’s Wildlife Division, and Craig Smith, deputy chief of the Wildlife Division.

Bruce is now the agency’s deputy director of external affairs.

Best And Worst Of Times

She’ll take over as director during a time that is both exciting and challenging for Game and Fish.

On one hand, the agency is about as financially stable as it’s ever been. Wyoming continues to be a premier destination for out-of-state hunters. They’re willing to pay big fees for nonresident hunting licenses, which generates a large portion of Game and Fish’s revenue.

On the other hand, Game and Fish has been harshly criticized from people and wildlife advocates from around the globe for what some claim was light punishment for a Daniel man who reportedly captured, tortured and killed a wolf in February.

According to court records, Cody Roberts, 42, forfeited a $250 bond for a Game and Fish citation for illegal possession of a live, warm-blooded animal. But many have clamored for much stiffer penalties for the wolf’s cruel treatment.

There’s also ongoing controversy over whether grizzly bears should be delisted from federal endangered species protection and hunted in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

There also are squabbles over hunter access, even as many of Wyoming’s elk herds have ballooned to far above their objective population.

Hunters claim that landowners won’t give them enough access to shoot more of the elk, while landowners say they don’t want to be pressured into just throwing their gates wide open.

Regarding the elk quandary, Bruce said she’s familiar with that sort of situation. She previously worked in wildlife management in Iowa and saw it happen there with whitetail deer.

Some plots of land became “essentially refuges” for the exploding deer population and hunters couldn’t get to them, she said.

Like whitetail, elk “are a species that can become very adaptable to human disturbances to the environment,” she said.

“They’re two very different species, but the issues are similar,” she said.

Regarding the controversies, Bruce said she’s confident that Game and Fish can continue to take a balanced approach and stay on course with its mission to conserve wildlife and serve the public.

“One thing I’ve noticed is that we never shy away from those difficult issues,” she said.

First Woman Director

Bruce has been in her current position with Game and Fish since 2019, and worked with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for 17 years before that.

She said it’s meaningful to be selected as the first woman to lead Wyoming Game and Fish.

“I’m thrilled to represent the first female director for the department. That’s exciting. This is a very male-dominated field, it always has has been,” she said.

However, she added that her appointment in no way detracts from the excellent record of the men who previously directed Game and Fish and got the agency to where it is today.

Bruce added that she’s “honored” to set an example and be an inspiration for women and girls who are interested in careers in natural resource and wildlife management.

The Right One For The Job

Selecting from the three finalists was challenging, Gordon said in a statement released by his office.

“The Game and Fish Commission forwarded three exceptionally well-qualified candidates reflecting Wyoming’s commitment to wildlife and our natural resource heritage,” Gordon said.

“In her role as deputy director, Angi has demonstrated the department’s dedication to protecting our state’s leadership role in science and policy on wildlife issues large and small,” he added.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.

With data center news moving faster than ever, we want to make it easy for industry professionals to cut through the noise and find the most important stories of the week. 

The Data Center Knowledge News Roundup brings you the latest news and developments across the data center industry – from investments and mergers to security threats and industry trends. 

To keep up to date with all things data centers, subscribe to the Data Center Knowledge newsletter to get content straight to your inbox. 

Hyperscale Announcements 

Meta has unveiled plans to develop a hyperscale data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Once complete, the $800 million, 715,000 sq ft campus will be the Facebook owner’s 21st data center in the US and 25th globally. 

“Cheyenne stood out as an outstanding location for Meta to call home for a number of reasons,” the company said this week. “It provides good access to infrastructure and energy, it has a strong pool of talent, and we have found a great set of community partners that have helped us move this project forward.” 

Regional news publication Cowboy State Daily has been keeping a close eye on Meta’s expansion in Wyoming. According to the paper, a $1.2 billion solar project is planned near the data center with the capacity to produce enough electricity to run 771,000 homes. 

ARPA-E’s Peter de Bock Talks Data Center Cooling Obstacles, Innovations

Elsewhere, Amazon will partner with the Australian government for a cloud data system to handle top secret information, in a move that’s aimed at improving the nation’s cyber capabilities. 

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles announced the partnership with Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud division, at a press conference in Canberra this week, saying the government would invest at least A$2 billion ($1.3 billion) over the next decade in the new system. 

The location of the data centers and the nature of the information they will be holding weren’t disclosed. 

In other news, Gulf Energy will spend $271 million to expand its existing data center facility in Bangkok, Thailand, AQ Compute has started the construction of a new sustainable data center in Barcelona, Spain, and Northern Data is considering a $16 billion IPO as it looks to expand its data centers. 

For more of the latest data center developments around the world, check out our July roundup. 

Falling Short 

In other hyperscale news this week, Google said its emissions shot up by 48% over five years, as the company has infused artificial intelligence throughout many of its core products – making it harder to meet its goal of eliminating carbon emissions by 2030. 

Could Algae Be the Key to Data Center Sustainability?

Google’s annual sustainability report was released Tuesday (July 2) and covers the tech giant’s progress toward meeting its environmental goals. The company said its greenhouse gas emissions totaled 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent throughout 2023. This is 48% higher than in 2019, the company said, and 13% higher than in 2022. 

Google said higher energy consumption at its data centers and emissions from its supply chain were to blame and said its push to add AI to its products could make it more difficult to reduce emissions going forward. 

“As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute, and the emissions associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment,” Google wrote in the report. 

Cool Runnings 

Data Center Knowledge recently sat down with Peter de Bock, head of the US Department of Energy’s ARPA-E initiative, who discussed the critical challenges of data center cooling.

As AI workloads surge, efficient thermal management has become pivotal. In this exclusive interview, de Bock discusses the opportunities and hurdles impacting the COOLERCHIPS initiative, which aims to cut typical data center cooling energy to under 5%.

New Data Center Developments: July 2024

“As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute, and the emissions associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment,” de Bock said. 

Check out the full article to learn more. 

Internet Speed Record Broken 

And finally, an international team of researchers has set a new world record for the world’s fastest internet speed – at a blistering 402 terabits per second (Tb/s). 

The team, led by the Photonic Network Laboratory of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Japan, demonstrated a record-breaking optical transmission bandwidth of 37.6 THz to enable the new data-rate record in a standard commercially available optical fiber. 

At this speed, it would take just one minute to download every movie listed on the Internet Movie Database and less than a millisecond to install the popular video game, Elden Ring. 

“It is expected that the data-rate of optical transmission systems required to enable ‘Beyond 5G’ information services will increase enormously,” NICT said in a press release. “New wavelength regions enable deployed optical fiber networks to perform higher data-rate transmission and extend the useful life of existing network systems.”

Other Great Reads on DCK This Week 

Maximize ROI: 6 Key Questions for Effective Data Center Optimization. Ask these six essential questions to streamline your data center optimization efforts and enhance operational efficiency. 

Patch Now: Cisco Zero-Day Under Fire From Threat Group. Threat actors are understood to be exploiting a vulnerability in Cisco’s NX-OS data center software. 

Talen Energy Defends Interconnection Agreement for Amazon Data Center. It doesn’t appear that a protest by AEP and Exelon at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission poses a significant risk to the agreement, according to observers. 

Consumer Regulated Electricity: The Path to Faster, Reliable Power Solutions? There’s a growing understanding that we’re running out of electricity in the US. How can that be? More importantly, what can we do to fix it, asks Glen Lyons. 

AI vs. ESG – A Pressing Business Conundrum. Balancing AI adoption with sustainability is a pressing challenge for businesses. Eva Sóley Guðbjörnsdóttir explains how strategic data center location can help.