Topic: All The Oil In The World

[trapeze]

I found this at HotAir but I'm going to the linked article directly.

“The Green River Formation--an assemblage of over 1,000 feet of sedimentary rocks that lie beneath parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming--contains the world's largest deposits of oil shale,”Anu K. Mittal, the GAO’s director of natural resources and environment said in written testimony submitted to the House Science Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.

“USGS estimates that the Green River Formation contains about 3 trillion barrels of oil, and about half of this may be recoverable, depending on available technology and economic conditions,” Mittal testified.

“The Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, estimates that 30 to 60 percent of the oil shale in the Green River Formation can be recovered,” Mittal told the subcommittee. “At the midpoint of this estimate, almost half of the 3 trillion barrels of oil would be recoverable. This is an amount about equal to the entire world's proven oil reserves.”

What to conclude about this?

1. There is no energy crisis. Their may be a crisis over the political will needed to get the oil out of the ground but there is no lack of recoverable petroleum...not for the next several hundred years. Remember "peak oil?" It can now join the flat earth theory.

2. Everyone can get oil and as much as they want. If they can find this much here in ONE deposit then it can very likely be found darn near anywhere else.

3. Suddenly the loss of the Keystone pipeline isn't a huge deal. Oh, it is in the short run but it isn't a monster thing anymore.

4. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iran and all of the other nasty little freaks can go suck it. We don't need them anymore and no one else does either. They can and will go back to being the insignificant cesspools of misery that they were prior to WWII. I suppose they will always have money but it won't be anything on the scale of that which they have grown accustomed to. That supply and demand thing along with the invisible hand is a bit of a bitch.

5. This can totally put the environmentalists and the anti-war leftists at each others' throats. Don't want "wars for oil?" Fine, drill here or shut up. I fully expect the peaceniks to stand up to the Sierra Club fascists. They probably won't but now at least they don't have an excuse not to.

6. Who needs CAFE standards? No one. Not ever.

7. Who needs windmills, solar panels, ethanol or bio-fuels? No one. Not ever.

I also have to wonder if there are other mineral resources that might be found underfoot if only the right thinking and technology is applied.

[Libertas]

3 trillion! 

That won't go over well with the Obama Regime and the rest of the oil-hating leftists!

Romney better jump all over this like a fat kid on a jelly doughnut!!!

[EW1(SG)]

Before we get too excited, a petrogeologist of my acquaintance points out that the supposed reserve is actually keragen, a precursor to petroleum.  In other words, it's not oil.

ETA:  "Keragen" is one of them words with lots o' syllabusses, so I'm gonna have to look it up to see what that means.

[Libertas]

 

Buzzkill!

Can you confirm that EW1?  

As I understand it heating this crap up makes a goo and then it has to be refined.  What are the economics of this?  If it is possible to produce viable fuel I say go for it, but I am no geologist so I don't really know the process.

[EW1(SG)]

Yeah, I misspelled it, what he said was "kerogen."

Kerogen is essentially the geologic equivalent of Cosmoline; and when fractionated can be used to produce hydrocarbon fuels.  In other words what we are talking about is a shale deposit.  A very LARGE shale deposit, but one that is apparently not commercially viable at the moment.

If it's any consolation, we currently know the whereabouts of more commercially viable petroleum deposits than we have used since we started drilling for oil.  Whether we're allowed to use them or not is a political question.


But you know what they say:  Earth first!  We'll mine the other planets later!

[trapeze]

I have to take them at their word. They said "oil reserves" and "3 trillion barrels of oil." They said it under oath. Unless they are liars or idiots I have to go with what they said in their testimony.

[EW1(SG)]

Oh, I should also point out that the natural gas industry is in serious trouble:  because there is too MUCH of the stuff, depressing prices.

Of course the Administration is going to fix that.

[EW1(SG)]

I have to take them at their word. They said "oil reserves" and "3 trillion barrels of oil." They said it under oath. Unless they are liars or idiots I have to go with what they said in their testimony.

Not necessarily liars or idiots, but also not testimony from people who actually have to survive by making decisions about commercial viability.  And what one of those guys is telling me is that everybody knows about the Green River deposit, but nobody is currently interested in making the necessary expenditures to try to recover it.

Although that could change:  We've lost most of our ability to exploit the huge reserves offshore, and that isn't easily replaceable.  And they aren't going to tow those rigs back and forth between North and South America very often.

[Libertas]

As I understand it, maybe somebody of more knowledge can correct me, but this type of shale oil deposit is better gotten to using, as they say "in situ" techniques...and far be it from me to trust Wiki on political stuff, but if their info in the link is correct, it is economical to get at this stuff In Situ. 

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

Also, as we've discussed extensively, there are lots of proven reserves in our own lands and offshore areas to keep us fueled for centuries, if only the libiots, eco-nazis and greenies could be soundly defeated.

[trapeze]

The best thing that could happen to our energy situation would be the nomination and confirmation of Palin as Sec of Interior or Sec of Energy or both. Steve Perry would be acceptable, too.

That said, I don't think it will happen.

[Libertas]

Especially if one or both of those dept's could be eliminated!   

[Predator Don]

Whether this is 3 trillion barrels of oil or a product which can become oil.....Traps conclusions are correct. There is no real energy crisis, only a manufactured one, like global warming. We could bring the middle east to its knees by cutting out supply from them or at the very least we could force OPEC to reduce the cost of a barrels of oil in half.......it's called competition.

precedence to roll back the insane cafe standards by a new administration and have facts on their side.
Precedence to either severely reduce or eliminate ethanol subsidies.....let it stand on its own.
Precedence to continue to hammer Obama over his wasteful use of tax payer monies on the solyndras of this nation.

The fact is, whether black gold rolling out of the ground via Jed clampett or a product which will create oil, the facts can be used effectively against every Obama program.

[IronDioPriest]

The best thing that could happen to our energy situation would be the nomination and confirmation of Palin as Sec of Interior or Sec of Energy or both. Steve Perry would be acceptable, too.

That said, I don't think it will happen.

Which Steve Perry? This one?



Or this one?



   

Now... Don't tell me there really IS a Steve Perry who could rescue us from vapid energy policy, or I'll be really frikkin embarrassed for giving you crap!
 

[EW1(SG)]

Whether this is 3 trillion barrels of oil or a product which can become oil.....Traps conclusions are correct. There is no real energy crisis, only a manufactured one, like global warming. We could bring the middle east to its knees by cutting out supply from them or at the very least we could force OPEC to reduce the cost of a barrels of oil in half.......it's called competition.

precedence to roll back the insane cafe standards by a new administration and have facts on their side.
Precedence to either severely reduce or eliminate ethanol subsidies.....let it stand on its own.
Precedence to continue to hammer Obama over his wasteful use of tax payer monies on the solyndras of this nation.

The fact is, whether black gold rolling out of the ground via Jed clampett or a product which will create oil, the facts can be used effectively against every Obama program.

That's very true, the energy "crisis" is totally manufactured.  I can't figure out if Odumbo understands that energy is the foundation of modern civilization and is actively trying to destroy us, or if he's just a dumbass and does not realize the consequences.

[charlesoakwood]

I found this at HotAir but I'm going to the linked article directly.

“The Green River Formation--an assemblage of over 1,000 feet of sedimentary rocks that lie beneath parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming--contains the world's largest deposits of oil shale,”Anu K. Mittal, the GAO’s director of natural resources and environment said in written testimony submitted to the House Science Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.

“USGS estimates that the Green River Formation contains about 3 trillion barrels of oil, and about half of this may be recoverable, depending on available technology and economic conditions,” Mittal testified.

“The Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, estimates that 30 to 60 percent of the oil shale in the Green River Formation can be recovered,” Mittal told the subcommittee. “At the midpoint of this estimate, almost half of the 3 trillion barrels of oil would be recoverable. This is an amount about equal to the entire world's proven oil reserves.”

What to conclude about this?

1. There is no energy crisis. Their may be a crisis over the political will needed to get the oil out of the ground but there is no lack of recoverable petroleum...not for the next several hundred years. Remember "peak oil?" It can now join the flat earth theory.

2. Everyone can get oil and as much as they want. If they can find this much here in ONE deposit then it can very likely be found darn near anywhere else.

3. Suddenly the loss of the Keystone pipeline isn't a huge deal. Oh, it is in the short run but it isn't a monster thing anymore.

4. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iran and all of the other nasty little freaks can go suck it. We don't need them anymore and no one else does either. They can and will go back to being the insignificant cesspools of misery that they were prior to WWII. I suppose they will always have money but it won't be anything on the scale of that which they have grown accustomed to. That supply and demand thing along with the invisible hand is a bit of a bitch.

5. This can totally put the environmentalists and the anti-war leftists at each others' throats. Don't want "wars for oil?" Fine, drill here or shut up. I fully expect the peaceniks to stand up to the Sierra Club fascists. They probably won't but now at least they don't have an excuse not to.

6. Who needs CAFE standards? No one. Not ever.

7. Who needs windmills, solar panels, ethanol or bio-fuels? No one. Not ever.

I also have to wonder if there are other mineral resources that might be found underfoot if only the right thinking and technology is applied.

This should be printed and nailed to the court house doors.
No, it's not as great as Luther's but it does bust the myth of
the clergy of Gaia.

[warpmine]

The best thing that could happen to our energy situation would be the nomination and confirmation of Palin as Sec of Interior or Sec of Energy or both. Steve Perry would be acceptable, too.

That said, I don't think it will happen.

Which Steve Perry? This one?



Or this one?



   

Now... Don't tell me there really IS a Steve Perry who could rescue us from vapid energy policy, or I'll be really frikkin embarrassed for giving you crap!
 

Uh, IDP, that's Rick Perry.

[warpmine]

I think that we re-label all the lefty proglodytes as something that describes them to a "Tee", energy starvationists. No matter what queer energy scam they clamor for, the final results are always the same, starvation from energy, be it economically viability or statistically possible, they are against it and it all translates to them being the enemy of everybody in this country.

[Pandora]

The best thing that could happen to our energy situation would be the nomination and confirmation of Palin as Sec of Interior or Sec of Energy or both. Steve Perry would be acceptable, too.

That said, I don't think it will happen.

Which Steve Perry? This one?



Or this one?



   

Now... Don't tell me there really IS a Steve Perry who could rescue us from vapid energy policy, or I'll be really frikkin embarrassed for giving you crap!
 

Uh, IDP, that's Rick Perry.

I suspect this is IDP's way of asking trap if he really meant Rick Perry, but typed Steve Perry instead.

[Predator Don]

I think that we re-label all the lefty proglodytes as something that describes them to a "Tee", energy starvationists. No matter what queer energy scam they clamor for, the final results are always the same, starvation from energy, be it economically viability or statistically possible, they are against it and it all translates to them being the enemy of everybody in this country.

These same types were the ones selling useless snake oil to the settlers of he 1800's. The cure for all...right heer, in this tiny bottle.....Step right up and be the first to.....

[charlesoakwood]

They had a good remedy for snake oil salesmen in the 19^th Century too.