Early plan out for huge Wyoming gas field

U.S. officials have released an early plan for what could become one of the biggest natural gas fields in the nation.

The Normally Pressured Lance Field in western Wyoming could eventually cover 220 square miles and have as many as 3,500 wells.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management released a draft environmental impact study for the project Friday.

Jonah Energy, LLC, seeks to tap 5.25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, or a year's supply for 74 million average-sized homes.

BLM officials say the project would create 700 full-time jobs and net $2.2 billion in royalties, half of which would go to the state of Wyoming.

The nearby Jonah and Pinedale Anticline fields in western Wyoming rank among the 10 most productive onshore U.S. gas fields.