None mentioned the BLM projections, which were previously announced at county commission meetings in Natrona and Converse counties.

Converse County Commission Chair Jim Willox was asked by an audience member about the sustainability of the boom. Willox said it was difficult to know how long it would last, but that all indications pointed toward sustained increases in production.

On Thursday, Willox said he did not mention the BLM’s projections because they are theoretical.

“That number is in there, but it’s not set until the EIS is done,” he said. “That is the reason that we haven’t taken that number to the bank.”

State Oil and Gas Supervisor Grant Black was asked directly about the potential for growth in wells by Jill Morrison, an organizer at the Powder River Basin Resource Council, a Sheridan-based environmental group.

“I don’t think anyone’s crystal ball can say what’s going to happen in the future,” Black told her, noting future growth would largely depend on the production and profits generated by the wells drilled today.