Oil Reserves

[RedDog]

Good News?
Link (http://www.netl.doe.gov/energy-analyses/pubs/Oil%20Shale%20Development%20in%20the%20United%20St ates%20-%20RAND%20August%20200.pdf)

The largest known oil shale deposits in the world are in the Green River Formation, which covers portions of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Estimates of the oil resource in place within the Green River Formation range from 1.5 to 1.8 trillion barrels. Not all resources in place are recoverable. For potentially recoverable oil shale resources, we roughly derive an upper bound of 1.1 trillion barrels of oil and a lower bound of about 500 billion barrels. For policy planning purposes, it is enough to know that any amount in this range is very high. For example, the midpoint in our estimate range, 800 billion barrels, is more than triple the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. Present U.S. demand for petroleum products is about 20 million barrels per day. If oil shale could be used to meet a quarter of that demand, 800 billion barrels of recoverable resources would last for more than 400 years.
...Shell anticipates that, in contrast to the cost estimates for mining and surface retorting, the petroleum products produced by their thermally conductive in-situ method will be competitive at crude oil prices in the mid-$20s per barrel. The company is still developing the process, however, and cost estimates could easily increase as more information is obtained and more detailed designs become available. [PA note: even if costs turned out to be 3X, its still economically viable at today's prices]
Development Timeline. Currently, no organization with the management, technical, and financial wherewithal to develop oil shale resources has announced its intent to build commercial-scale production facilities... [PA note: by 2007 Shell had already started ramping this in Canada]

[tiger lily]

itll never happen, govt wont drill it, itll be another alaska and be protected till the end of days, Keep drilling the gulf!! i need more work, no one care about louisiana and texas offshore!

[gcarter]

I think this is interesting stuff. I've also read that the emvironmentalists are pretty much on board w/this (of course they're never really on board w/anything unless it has an animal pulling it or there's 10,000 people on a bus that's burning garbage or something). There's a big investment to be made before any oil can be extracted, but maybe its time has come. The in situ scheme is a lot more palatable than the mining operations that were done in the '70's. The downside, like the Canadian tar sands, is the amount of energy and heat thats required to extract the product.

[Tony]

Would CO, UT, and WY have a say in this...or are the rights to these resources governed by the USA?
Similarly, are the rights to Great Lakes fresh water determined by bordering states? (...as we, in Michigan, obviously support!)

[Tony]

of course they're never really on board w/anything unless it has an animal pulling it or there's 10,000 people on a bus that's burning garbage or something

Careful, George, we've been admonished before for getting too political!


:beer:

[gcarter]

Careful, George, we've been admonished before for getting too political!
:beer:
Are environmentalists political?????? :eek!::confused:

Dang it!!!

I thought they came in all shades and stripes!!!!!

What I know is that they don't want us to have any fun at all. :yes:

[Tony]

Are environmentalists political??????

Environmentalists are political, as are big oil companies. Each pay millions to see that their interests are served...some of the money is channeled through lobbyists and some of the money goes straight into the pockets of the politicians.

Far too few politicians seek solutions for the betterment of our country, or the people, or the land, or the future...instead they concentrate almost soley on two things; their re-election and their bank account.

:beer:

[vonkamp]

Far too few politicians seek solutions for the betterment of our country, or the people, or the land, or the future...instead they concentrate almost soley on two things; their re-election and their bank account.


You got dat right! :beer:


Lot's of speculation on why Ted Turner is buying huge amounts of land in those area's...Hmmmmm..

[Bob]

The devil is in the details. "Not all the oil in place is recoverable". The company that I work for has been drilling wells in oil shales for years. The engineers are very happy to recover up to 5% of the original oil in place in shales.
A good recovery in a clean and porous sandstone reservoir (think sandbox) is only 33% of the original oil in place (OOIP).