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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Geologists are calling it a spectacular find in an unlikely place.
A tiny oil company says there could be as much as one (b) billion barrels of oil in central Utah.
Wolverine Gas and Oil has snapped up leasing rights to a half-(m) million acres in a part of the state that major oil companies gave up on long ago.
Geologists are calling it the largest onshore discovery in at least 30 years.
The area contains high-quality oil that is already commanding a premium at refineries.
But some industry analysts have their doubts. Oppenheimer senior oil analyst Fadel Gheit calls the expectation of one (b) billion barrels "highly unlikely."
Industry players expect the find will prompt a bidding war at the next Utah leasing auction in two weeks.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
