More oil than the whole Middle East.
Let us say it is true. How come everyone is not running to exploit it, like they exploit any other economic and financial benefit?
The other aspect is how much energy, and at what cost, is it going to take to heat the oil shale up and extract the oil?
I suggest conserving resources. We should use renewable energy, such as solar and wind energy etc. to heat up the shale.
Another issue is they government is waiting for oil to reach $200 per barrel so it can reduce the deficit and pay down outstanding loans.
I hope that is the truth and that there are no hidden agendas.
Technological hurdles to extract oil from shale
“Despite all the attempts to develop a shale oil industry in the United States over the past 100 years, the fact remains that no proven method exists for efficiently moving the oil from the rock. There are a number of candidate processes possible, but none has demonstrated a practical capability to produce oil.”
This statement was made by experts with field experience who are bullish on the prospects for America's oil shale. But they recognize that, here and now, we are still not there technologically. There are a number of problems yet to be solved before US oil shale can be recovered on any type of meaningful scale, let alone a mass scale. And getting the extraction technology right is only one monkey wrench in the works with US oil shale. There are others.
For example, there are questions of air quality regarding domestic oil shale operations. How badly would these operations pollute the air? Would the levels be acceptable? The Oil Companies are not sure.
There are questions of water availability. During the extraction process, how much water would be required? Experts are not sure. An early "guess" is two to three barrels of water per barrel of shale. This could be a conservative estimate. Either way, will the massive amounts of water necessary for heavy-duty shale extraction even be available in the first place, given that the Colorado River Basin is already running low?
Environmental and ecological damage and restoration to pre-drilling conditions also need to be considered. Can you imagine? We could have the largest oil reserve in the world if we find an economical way to extract the oil. We will be energy independent, have a huge economic boom, increase employment with funds staying in our country and inform the countries that are currently supplying us with oil that we do not need them. They will no longer be able blackmail us or threaten us with economic doom.
American technology and knowhow will find the answer. All that is needed is to wave the dollar bill in front of corporate America and they will find the answer “by hook or by crook”.
Then the executives, the shareholders and the politicians will laugh all the way to the bank.
