Rocky Mountains Hold Endless Supply of Oil
Estimated More Than Two Trillion Barrels of Oil Shale Untapped
While gas prices soar, the economy is in limbo, and the war continues, many companies have expressed interest in extracted this oil for as little as $10 a barrel. Considering when barrels cost $50-$70 each it is easy to say this is a monumental finding. So big that in 2005 George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which allowed the beginning phases of extraction. So where is this piece of land and why exactly has it not been publicized more?
For years the Green River Formation has been known as one of the most prolific areas for finding fossils as far back as 1856 when Dr. John Evans brought the first fossil fish (theKnightia eocaena) to the world of science. Green River covers parts of western Colorado, eastern Utah, and southwestern Wyoming and a thousand feet deep inside the Rocky Mountains lies what is called oil shale. Which according to the Oil Shale and Tar Sands Programmatic EIS InformationCenter in Lehman's terms is a rock with a greasy texture and when heated can give you oil.
The reason for lack of publicizing this 16, 000 square miles of oil shale may have been from expenses. While the government has known about this area since 1930 and even protected it from being touched it was more inexpensive to purchase oil from other countries than doing it ourselves here. However, with events and happenings the last six years it may be time to withdraw from our oil savings account and with companies coming forward to extract it at $10 per barrel it may be a reasonable thought to see gas prices as low as they were twenty years ago.
Pretty soon there will be new cases of Beverly Hillbillies striking it rich as the New American Oil Boom is almost upon us. We just have to hope they quit digging with a spoon like Timothy Robbins did in Shawshank Redemption and do it with some sort of urgency.
Published by Michael Grisso
"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous."~Robert Benchley View profile
- Politicians Deserve Some of the Blame for High Gas PricesThey're at it again-the politicians who want to blame everyone but themselves for the high price of gas at the pump. An inability for politicians to blame themselves is part of the problem causing high gas prices.
- An Overview of the Non Profit Sector in the United StatesFind out why the United States has a non profit sector and how its role relates to the roles of government and business.
Great Inventions Courtesy of the United States GovernmentRelatively speaking, the United States has not been around for a long period of time. When you take a look at what we have invented and brought to the world it is incredible. - An Analysis of the United States Oil Policy and OPECThe article gives analysis of United States policy towards OPEC and how this policy has hurt the country. It lists alternatives to the current policy along with the pro's and cons to the policy and arrives at the aut...
- An Evolving Democracy: The United StatesAt no other time in the 200-year history of the United States has there been a greater opportunity for people to be involved in the evolution of democracy.
- Oil Shale Energy
- Crude Oil and Alternative Sources
- Gas Prices Bloating the Nation
- Why We Need Higher Gas Prices
- How High Gas Prices Will Help Our Environment
- What Will People Do If Gas Prices Rise Above $5?
- Gas Prices Continue to Rise - How Can You Save Money?
- 16,000 square miles of oil shale
- Possible $20 billion a year or more in profits
- U.S. has known about since 1930
11 Comments
Post a CommentThe fight for the last oil is getting closer
There may be a lot of kerogen in the ground. But getting it out and converting it to oil takes a massive amount of energy itself. Oil shales no matter how massive, will never result in the kind of flow rates traditional oil fields produced. So most, if not all, of the shale oil would remain trapped in the ground. The process used to remove the shale requires that the rock be broken and mined like coal. But shale contains even less energy by volume than coal itself. Another method requires that massive electrodes be implanted into the ground, heat miles and miles of rock for two years to 700 degrees and then extract a small fraction of oil. The process is so energy intensive that no-one, not even the world's largest oil companies, have figured out how to extract anything but very small volumes of oil from these 'massive' reserves.
thanks everyone for commenting on this, I've been neglecting it I see. Wow Mz. I didn't know that! Interesting to say the least
I didn't even know about this, thank you for sharing! Happy New Years!
I didn't know this! Wow! What an eye opener!
great job on this article
I think it's all about the money, not the oil. I read recently (can't remember where) that we already export as much oil as we import!
The US also has access to deep-sea drilling, which would produce more than enough oil to sustain the (ridiculously dependent) country, so you have to wonder, with all this oil lying around on our own turf, why we would go after someone else's.
Thanks for the article. :)
Funny too because I know someone who works in the oil field industry and he makes really good money driving a truck, moving rigs. The oil is plentiful, not only in the Rockies but down south and I am sure in other areas around the US. Maybe Bush is 'saving' it lol who knows. Thanks for the enlightening.
Very nice, man amazing to know that the US will let us drown in gas prices rather than dig up our own oil! Also one thing the US dollar is dropping and when the US dollar drops oil goes up! Just for thought! Nice Job on this report.