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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Advisers to Gov. Jon Huntsman are reorganizing the state's Energy Office to emphasize traditional resource development while taking a new look at Utah's oil shale and tar sands.
Huntsman is abosrbing the Energy Office into his office, and expects the next director to make Utah more hospitable to oil and gas development, particularly in the Uinta Basin.
Huntsman already has ordered Department of Natural Resources chief Mike Styler to become more friendly to oil and gas developers.
The state's Division of Oil, Gas and Mining has been told to model itself on other states' agencies that promote extractive energy development.
But there is concern that focusing heavily on traditional energy sources could lead to missed opportunities during a time other states are moving toward wind and solar energy development and conservation.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
