Topic: All The Oil In The World

[Libertas]

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

[John Florida]

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.

   The freind he's talking about is Mike C. and he's in the business and his job is to call it what it is. If Mike says it's not oil,it's not oil. It will be oil in the future and if it can be made into fuel at a reasonable cost it's usable. Right now it's too expensive to make into fuel and oil is in the mid-high 90.00s all it would do is drive prices up not down.

[Libertas]

If you are in touch with Mike ask him about what I asked about earlier in this thread...it seems to me In Situ processing of this is possible now and ecnomical...or is Wiki full of crap?

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

[John Florida]

If you are in touch with Mike ask him about what I asked about earlier in this thread...it seems to me In Situ processing of this is possible now and ecnomical...or is Wiki full of crap?

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

 Done I'll post his answer tonight.

[AmericanPatriot]

In the early 80s, I had an opportunity to sit in on discussions between my then employer and some people who were looking to raise capital for a synfuels plant in Venango County, Pa.
I believe it was built but never heard much about it after that.

At that time, I think the magic number to be cost effective was $40/bbl

Another idea that was around then was refining coal slurry into fuel

[Libertas]

Thanks John.

As for coal slurry AP, isn't that really high in sulfur?  I could see that being much more costly to refine.

[AmericanPatriot]

Libertas, I don't know much about it. Or if I did, it was so long ago that my pea brain lost it.

I would guess that it depends on the sulphur content of the coal being used.

Western coal tends to be a lot lower in sulphur.
I think there is lower sulphur in West Virginia but here in western Pa ours is fairly high

[Libertas]

Doesn't appear sulfur content is important, the mixture of water and coal is easier to transport and safer to use...I found this -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal-water_slurry_fuel

And then this expample of a coal slurry boiler -

http://www.crownpowercogen.com/coal-slurry-boiler-system

Figures EPA-less China is exploiting another technology for which we have lots of reserves.

[charlesoakwood]

Diesel engines like sulfur. If the ecofreaks would allow it back in
the engines would last longer and be less expensive to operate.
 

[Libertas]

Yeah, well the industry already caved and is going down the green chute with that biodiesel crap/urea crud...

 

[John Florida]

  Here's what I got from Mike C.

There's a huge amount of hydrocarbons in the Green River.  Extraction is easy, but practically and economically impossible.  Back during the 70s, several companies had pilot plants, where they just dug it up, ground it up, and retorted it in surface plants.  For a number of reasons, that will never happen again.

[charlesoakwood]

How many of that number have to do with regulations?

[John Florida]

How many of that number have to do with regulations?

  Most all.

[AlanS]

There's some other factors about the "oil crisis" that some are forgetting. Oil is a global commodity. The fuel demand in the US has dropped since our economy is in the tank, but the demand in China, Brazil, and India is still going gangbusters. If the Green River Shale is harvested (by private companies), it's going to be shipped (or refined, then shipped) to where the most demand is deemed.

[charlesoakwood]

There will be agreement between the govt that removes existing regulation
and the oil cos that they may make as much profit as possible over seas but
at home the price comes down.  Otherwise there will be hearings and they
won't be pretty.  The rest of the world should be good enough for them.

[benb61]

I read somewhere recently that in Saudi Arabia they pay the equivalent of 25 cents for a gallon of gas.  Boy would I love to see that price point here again.

[Libertas]

Thanks John, and good follow up guys!  I sensed the regulatory angle right away too and if we could only end the EPA and pull all this fricken suicidal crap off the books and get to sane exploitation of our own natural resources we could be kicking energy ass!

I'd like to get back to gas below $1/gal but even $2 ought to be achievable if we as a nation pull our head out of our butt!

[charlesoakwood]

No EPA, no alphabet soup of regulation:

                  Gold Diggers of 1933 - "We're in the Money"

       

[AlanS]

There will be agreement between the govt that removes existing regulation
and the oil cos that they may make as much profit as possible over seas but
at home the price comes down.  Otherwise there will be hearings and they
won't be pretty.  The rest of the world should be good enough for them.

I must be missing something. Are you suggesting government intervention to control gas prices?

[charlesoakwood]

No, I'm suggesting a gentleman's agreement. 
It would be an embarrassment to any politician or political group
to put forth all the work necessary to relieve corporations or other
exploration and development entities of existing burdensome regulation,
then have those entities turn around and abuse their new freedom.
Political and public will would turn on them and chew them up.

Personally I think they have the good sense not to do it because of the
ill will it would cause.  The support they receive from the informed public
and the political support they have today would not only evaporate it would
turn against them. Any big profits they could have expected will taxed away.