Web address links company and Elk Point, but no one's talking

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Is Texas oil firm 'Gorilla?'

Web address links company and Elk Point, but no one's talking
By Jeff Martin
Copyright © 2007 Argus Leader
Published: May 27, 2007

A Texas oil firm's connection to two Web site addresses provides possible new clues in the mystery of what company is behind the so-called "Gorilla Project" near Elk Point.

Internet domain names registered by the Texas firm Hyperion Resources include Hyperionelkpoint.com, registered in October 2006, and Hyperionsd.com, registered in April 3, according to an Argus Leader search of public registries and databases.

Both sites were registered to an office - Suite 1350 in a high-rise just north of downtown Dallas - that's home to Hyperion, a private energy company.

It's not clear whether the Texas company has a connection to the South Dakota project which, with reports it would bring 2,000 jobs to the Elk Point area, has garnered regional and national attention.

The Sioux City Journal, for one, created a contest, offering a flat-screen television to the reader who correctly guesses what the project is. The Wall Street Journal ran a front-page story about the mystery Friday.

The company in question isn't talking; officials declined to respond to phone calls and e-mails during the past three weeks. While government officials aren't revealing who is behind the project, Gov. Mike Rounds said the project is not a done deal and that South Dakota is in competition with others to lure whoever is behind the project.

Rounds would not say in which industry the project would fall, but he said he's been assured "there would be no adverse environmental impact."

Hyperion Chairman Albert D. Huddleston is a wealthy oilman who was a major campaign donor to President Bush, according to stories last year in the Dallas Morning News.

Many companies stake out domain names well in advance of official announcements and groundbreakings. The former Sioux Valley Health System, for instance, registered Sanfordhealth.org and numerous other Web sites with the Sanford name months before announcing it would change its name to Sanford.

Registering sites early is done partly to guard against so-called cybersquatters, who register desirable domain names and then charge exorbitant fees to companies.

Phone calls to Hyperion on May 2, and again last week, were not returned by company officials.

However, a representative of a high-powered lobbying and public relations firm did return a call on behalf of the company. Eric Williams of the Gallatin Group, which has offices in Washington, D.C., and throughout the Pacific Northwest, said he would check with the company to see whether they had any comment.

Hyperion made headlines in 2006 when it sponsored an Iraq youth soccer team's trip to compete in an international tournament near Dallas.

The company has oil and gas operations primarily in the United States, with a recent emphasis on international development, according to company news releases. The firm has been active in Iraq during the past two years and sponsored training for Iraqi Oil Ministry personnel in Texas.

Hyperion paid more than $100,000 to bring the soccer team to Texas, Huddleston told the Dallas Morning News. The Iraq Under 14 team's visit to the United States, the Dallas newspaper reported, became one of the biggest sports stories in Iraq.

Huddleston also is behind an environmental group, the Clean COALition, which shares Hyperion's office suite. The coalition "is dedicated to improving our environment and public health by educating people about the new environmentally friendly technologies available today, particularly in industrial and energy applications," its Web site says.

Messages left with the Clean COALition were not returned.

Rounds said in a statement Thursday that "we are still in competition for an economic development project in southeastern South Dakota.

"Naturally, any time a project of any significant size is proposed or rumored, there is an inclination to question whether or not that development would be environmentally acceptable to the local community or the state as a whole. One of the assurances we've received from the project's proponents is that there would be no adverse environmental impact."

Real estate agents have secured options on thousands of acres of land north of Elk Point. Union County commissioners have been told the project might need up to 5,000 acres of land, with about half covered by buildings.

Few other details are known.

Dawn Glover, Elk Point city administrator, said she could neither confirm nor deny information about a specific company being part of the project.

But Rounds said there will be time for public involvement if the company chooses South Dakota for its project.

"The project proponents have expressed full support for our open and public forums at the local and state jurisdictions if we are selected as their preferred site," Rounds said.

"The timing of any announcement of our selection should be the prerogative of the project leaders - after which the public process would begin."

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