Over 70% of the United States' oil shale resources underlie federal lands in the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
In 2004, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) formulated a Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) Lease program under the authority of the 1920 Mineral Leasing act to encourage development of oil shale resources in economically and environmentally responsible ways. The RD&D program was supported in the 2005 Energy Policy Act.
In June of 2005 nominations were solicited in the "Federal Register" and twenty proposals were submitted, including the proposal of AMSO (then called E.G.L. Oil Shale LLC).
The proposals were evaluated by an inter-disciplinary team including representatives from the affected states, as well as the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.
Proposals were subsequently subjected to environmental analysis under the terms of the National Environmental Policy Act and brought before public meetings in Colorado and Utah.
Subsequently, the BLM issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for EGL Oil Shale LLC's plan of operations.
In January 2007, EGL Oil Shale LLC received an RD&D lease in Colorado, making it the only independent BLM lease holder in Colorado. Out of twenty proposals, only three companies were awarded a lease in Colorado.