The U.S. Govt’s Secret Colorado Oil Discovery

[Drea]

Looks like the end of Middle East Oil Dependancy!

Stansberry & Associates

We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth.

Here are the official estimates:

8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia

18-times as much oil as Iraq

21-times as much oil as Kuwait

22-times as much oil as Iran

500-times as much oil as Yemen

...And it’s all right here in the Western United States.

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says, “We’ve got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East.”

[jdobbin]

Looks like the end of Middle East Oil Dependancy!

Stansberry & Associates

We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth.

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says, “We’ve got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East.”

This has been known for some time.

The costs of mining it and the environmental laws kept it from being the first choice.

The costs have come down because of high oil prices. However, the fear is how much water is needed to mine it and how much pollution will be left in the aquifer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_shale

[Drea]

IMO, the cost of extracting this oil is much much less than what we are paying now (in lives!) no matter how much water we use or "popcorn" shale we have to dispose of...

[jdobbin]

IMO, the cost of extracting this oil is much much less than what we are paying now (in lives!) no matter how much water we use or "popcorn" shale we have to dispose of...

So you are okay with the possible environmental effects on the water aquifer?

[kimmy]

It's only "secret" because nobody can figure out how to get the oil out of the rocks in practical production quantities. As with Alberta's oil sands, technological hurdles will be overcome. As with Alberta's oil sands, getting useful oil out of the rocks will never be easy or cheap and will consume lots of energy.

In short, don't expect gas to drop down to 30 cents a litre any time soon.

-k

[Toro]

The "secret" has been known for about 100 years.

We're a couple decades away from full-scale production of oil from shale.

But the potential is massive.

From the Rand Corporation

The largest known oil shale deposits in the world are in the Green River Formation, which covers portions of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming...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...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.

http://rand.org/pubs/monographs/2005/RAND_MG414.pdf

[yam]

Im confused - I thought nobody knew how much estimated oil Saudi Arabia has let alone proven. Some argue how far over or otherwise they are in the scale of peak production.

[Charles Anthony]

Looks like the end of Middle East Oil Dependancy!

That is like saying: "Now that we have discovered Pepsi, we are no longer dependent on Coca Cola!"

The Middle East has a great impact on world oil prices.

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says, “We’ve got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East.”

If we discover that the whole of planet Mars is gold, will we be rich?

[geoffrey]

If we discover that the whole of planet Mars is gold, will we be rich?

No, because gold prices would plummit. Just like oil prices would if they found this deposit to be extractable.

[Charles Anthony]

No, because gold prices would plummit.

No, but not for that reason. Rather, it would be incredibly expensive to extract compared to working our gold mines on Earth. It is all relative to what is available now.

Just like oil prices would if they found this deposit to be extractable.

This deposit is described as more expensive to extract than current Middle East Oil. Therefore, it does not matter how much is contained in the deposit. If it is incredibly expensive to extract, it will stay underground.

The only time that we can say: "the end of Middle East Oil Dependancy!" is when there is physical geologic depletion in the Middle East. Until that day, as long as the Middle East is extracting oil in a cheaper or more accessible manner relative to elsewhere, we will always be affected by Middle East production.

[margrace]

Wouldn't it be easier to look at forgetting the use of oil and get something else. Heating for instance, you can set up a system of extracting heat from the ground, very expensive right now, but if more of it was used wouldn't it come down in price. I know that this system cost my son in law about $20,000 but his monthly bills are now only $3o year round and that includes heat in the winter for water and air and airconditioning in the summer.

I think we need to look at the vested interests in Oil.

[geoffrey]

One day you'll realise that it isn't cost we pay at the pumps. When prices drop $0.30 in 3 days like they just did in Calgary, do you really think it cost 25% less to make the gasoline at the time?

Get real, limited supply drives prices, not extraction costs. Prices would go down, more oil means lower prices. It would have to be 3 or 4 times as expensive as tar sands production in order to actually COST more than current selling price.

[kengs333]

Looks like the end of Middle East Oil Dependancy!

Stansberry & Associates

LOL. Oh, yes, secret indeed! Seriously, the presence of this oil is far from being a secret, and it will never end "Middle East Oil Dependancy".