Energy industry executives and state officials, like elsewhere, have bemoaned the snail-like pace of actually getting oil and gas resources out of the ground at a time when the BLM is issuing drilling permits at a record rate.

They also have complained about delays in issuing BLM oil and gas leases, which led to passage of a resolution in the Utah Legislature this year urging the federal agency to expedite the process.

At least some of the problem has been pinned on legal challenges filed by environmental groups.

But Steve Bloch, an attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, says the facts don't square with what is actually happening in the Uinta Basin and other energy hot spots in Utah.

"There's this mythology being promoted that there is a shortage of drill permits and a shortage of land being leased," said Bloch. "But there is no shortage of permits and there is no shortage of leases. When you look at the numbers, it doesn't add up."

Between 2001 - when the Bush administration took office - and 2004, 3,448 drilling permits were approved by the BLM in Utah, but only 2,152 of those permits were actually used, according to the Rocky Mountain Oil Journal. That left 1,296 permits idle.

Similarly, state figures show that of the nearly 4 million acres in oil and gas leases issued in Utah by the BLM at the end of 2003, fewer than 1 million acres were actually in production. And Bloch notes that out of just over 4,000 drilling permits issued by the BLM between 2000 and 2004, just five were protested by SUWA.

"It sounds good to say [environmental groups] are the problem, but it's not true," he said. "We're for a balanced approach as much as anybody else. That's why so many drill permits are approved without controversy."

Don Banks, the BLM's chief of external affairs in Utah, says there is nothing mysterious about permit-production gap - in this state or elsewhere.

"This isn't self-service. Companies have to wait in line for these permits, and that line is growing every day," he said. "So when it's finally your turn, it's only smart to apply for everything you think you might need."

The biggest issue facing the energy companies, Banks noted, is equipment availability.

Banks notes that there are now 32 drilling rigs in Utah, up from 20 a year ago.

"Every day it seems like there are company reps in our Vernal Field Office asking for more [permits] because they don't want those rigs to stand idle," he said. "It's a pedal-to-the-metal situation."

jbaird@sltrib.com