Food for thought

[ElTaino]

The U. S. Geological Service issued a report in April ('08) that only
scientists and oil men knew it was coming, but it was big. It was a
revised report (hadn't been updated since '95) on how much oil was in this
area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota ; western South Dakota ; and
extreme eastern Montana ...... check THIS out:

The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska 's Prudhoe
Bay , and has the potential to eliminateall American dependence on foreign
oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503
billion barrels.. Even if just 10%of the oil is recoverable... at $107 a
barrel, we're looking at a resource base worth more than $5.3 trillion.

This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in
the past 56 years reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. It's a formation
known as the Williston Basin, but is more commonly referred to as the
'Bakken.' And it stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada . For years, U. S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the 'Big Oil' companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken's massive reserves.... and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels.. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!

That's enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 41 years
straight.

if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one might -
U.S. Oil Discovery- Largest Reserve in the World!

Stansberry Report Online - 4/20/2006 Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world. It is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. On August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction. In three and a half years of high oil prices none has been extracted. With this mother load of oil why are we still fighting over off-shore drilling?

They reported this stunning news: 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 .

HOW can this BE? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this? Because the
environmentalists and others have blocked all efforts to help America
become independent of foreign oil! Again, we are letting a small group of
people dictate our lives and our economy....WHY?

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we've got more oil in
this very compact area than the entire Middle East -more than 2 TRILLION
barrels untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil
in the world today, reports The Denver Post.

think 'OPEC' will drop its price - even with this find? Think again!
It's all about the competitive marketplace, - it has to. Think OPEC just
might be funding the environmentalists?

 

[kingbill]

Ask the Oil companies but i think the cost to extract the Oil in the ND Shale is very expensive. Its the same problem we have with the Tar Sands in Northern Alberta, when Oil costs more than $62 a barrel it's profitable to remove if not it's a losing venture.

 

[ElTaino]

actually KB i agree with you that it is very expensive to extract especially at the pits in canada. that being said my point was that we could essentially end our dependence on foreign oil, albeit at a premium, yet enviromentalist groups will fight any future drilling to the death.

what i do like about the US not drilling is that if we use all the worlds oil reserves without drilling our own, we will be the last ones standing with massive oil reserves. this could potentially seal the dominance of the US well into the future but could also potentially bring wars, terrorism, and if the current capitalistic system is any indicator; exuberant oil prices and price gouging from american oil firms

 

[kingbill]

Extracting Oil from the Sands as well as the Shale is HORRIBLE for the environment. It's not pretty that's what it's being used as a back up until more environmentally friendly methods are developed for the extraction. Have you seen the haze of the middle east? Would you want something much worse in your back yard?

Oh I just saw you're from LA, you must be used to breathing shitty air.

 

[ElTaino]

yes KB, but this oil WILL be extracted. just the way it is. these groups can fight and fight and fight some more but at some point it will be deemed necessary whether it be for national security/survival or other reasons and these groups will realize that all they did was prolong the extraction. if in that period of time they find a better, more environmentally sound method, then great. they cannot and will not stop this. the wheels are in motion. resistance is futile.

instead of dropping all this cash and resources to stop it, the money may be better spent at research and development of more sophisticated methods.

as for the ocean breeze coming in my window currently i only smell the ocean and iceplant. i only venture inland (to the bad air) when business dictates ^<<^

 

[MightyGinseng]

Bakken no energy panacea

Apr 14, 2008 04:30 AM
Tyler Hamilton

Those who deny that peak oil is a near-term problem can be so predictable. Hours after the U.S. Geological Survey released its study Thursday showing that the Bakken oil formation has up to 4.3 billion barrels of "technically recoverable oil," the emails started trickling in.

There's plenty of oil out there.

We just have to keep looking.

Peak oil is a scam.

The U.S. government's press release did look impressive, mind you. The Bakken Formation, a 40,000 square kilometre territory reaching into Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Montana, and North Dakota, showed a "25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered," at least compared to 1995 estimates.

A 25-fold increase? That's huge – or so it sounds.

But then you start comparing numbers. Assuming all 4.3 billion barrels could be retrieved, it would represent nine months of oil consumption in the United States.

Canada's oil sands hold about 177 billion barrels, and Saudi Arabia has an estimated 250 billion barrels, if you can believe the numbers.

Now, let's consider the nature of the Bakken oil. It doesn't sit in big underground pools where you can just pop in a metal straw and suck it out. This oil is trapped in layers of shale – a sedimentary rock – up to 3,000 metres deep. Getting at it is expensive and difficult, and certainly damaging to the surrounding landscape and environment.

You thought the oil sands were messy and energy-intensive? Bakken is tough oil. You have to drill down and then horizontally through rock, which has to be fractured to release the oil that is tucked away in small pores.

It will cost dearly to go after Bakken oil, just as Chevron will have to pay a bundle if it hopes to extract the 3 to 15 billion barrels it has discovered in the Gulf of Mexico, kilometres under the water at its "Jack" wells.

The technology exists to get it – at least some of it.

We can also have a manned mission to Mars if we truly wanted to pay for it.

Now, with oil at $110 (U.S.) a barrel, some of those Bakken reserves just might make it into our vehicles one day. What's perplexing, however, is the oil industry's determination to go after this expensive, dirty stuff when other, cleaner alternatives do exist.

"The reason is very simple," explains Hermann Scheer, president of the World Council for Renewable Energy, during a telephone interview from Berlin.

"The oil companies have tied all of their investments to transportation, refineries and distribution. That means they're prisoners of their own energy supply chain."

About the same time the Bakken reserve estimates were being released, Scheer was wrapping up a conference in Berlin aimed at creating a new International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) – a new global body that will exist to promote and study renewable energy.

The agency, reporting to the United Nations, will give renewable energy a voice that simply isn't being heard from the shadows of the International Energy Agency.

It will also be a counter-balance to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is singularly focused on promoting nuclear power around the world.

More than 60 countries attended the Berlin conference, most of them declaring themselves supporters of the new agency. India, Mexico and South Africa were among them. The United States, which is so far opposed to the organization, sent an observer. Canada sent nobody.

The federal Conservative government, with all its talk about reducing greenhouse gas emissions and embracing renewable energy, told Scheer's people that an International Renewable Energy Agency isn't necessary.

"They think the existing institutions are enough," says Scheer, who believes that the only way to break the fossil-fuel supply chain is to have an organization focused on building a new global supply chain that supports renewables.

"It's impossible to take the oil-supplying system, leave it alone, and channel renewable energies through this system. Therefore, we have a choice between protecting the conventional energy business and protecting the environment and society from climate disaster."

If all goes as planned, the new agency will be born this fall at a follow-up conference.

Lily Riahi, a 27-year-old masters student in York University's environmental studies program, spent last week at the conference working with Scheer as his intern. She's also working on her thesis: cultural barriers to renewable energy adoption.

She says it was tough being a Canadian at the conference without her own government there.

"You see all these other countries moving ahead, everybody excited, interested, supportive, and you have Canada missing from the talks," says Riahi.

"Even the U.S. had an observer. It's very embarrassing, and makes me feel Canada is moving backwards instead of forward."

It's kind of like watching people excited over oil reserves in the Bakken Formation.

 

[Mistermj]

yes KB, but this oil WILL be extracted. just the way it is. these groups can fight and fight and fight some more but at some point it will be deemed necessary whether it be for national security/survival or other reasons and these groups will realize that all they did was prolong the extraction. if in that period of time they find a better, more environmentally sound method, then great. they cannot and will not stop this. the wheels are in motion. resistance is futile.

instead of dropping all this cash and resources to stop it, the money may be better spent at research and development of more sophisticated methods.

as for the ocean breeze coming in my window currently i only smell the ocean and iceplant. i only venture inland (to the bad air) when business dictates ^<<^

No use trying to be reasonable with these lefty moonbats.

They think they have it all figured out...some of them honestly think the world can run on windmills and sunbeams.

They will argue about it...I kid you not.

 

[ElTaino]

The technology exists to get it – at least some of it.

We can also have a manned mission to Mars if we truly wanted to pay for it.

ambiguous analogies like this make it hard to believe articles like this one without a fact check.

and to mention a student doing a thesis? just more filler for an article written by a biased source.

i'll never understand why people have to add opinion and speculation to what is supposed to be a factual piece

 

[kingbill]

yes KB, but this oil WILL be extracted. just the way it is. these groups can fight and fight and fight some more but at some point it will be deemed necessary whether it be for national security/survival or other reasons and these groups will realize that all they did was prolong the extraction. if in that period of time they find a better, more environmentally sound method, then great. they cannot and will not stop this. the wheels are in motion. resistance is futile.

instead of dropping all this cash and resources to stop it, the money may be better spent at research and development of more sophisticated methods.

as for the ocean breeze coming in my window currently i only smell the ocean and iceplant. i only venture inland (to the bad air) when business dictates ^<<^

Thats what the enviromental groups want, the oil companies to invest in a cleaner way to extract the oil. At least in Canada, they know natural resources drive out economy but companies can't be counted on to think about what's best for the general public.

They will figure out a way to get it out safely because there is too much money not to.

 

[kingbill]

No use trying to be reasonable with these lefty moonbats.

They think they have it all figured out...some of them honestly think the world can run on windmills and sunbeams.

They will argue about it...I kid you not.

You're an idiot don't you have some picks to shill?

 

[punter]

mj is a touchstone.

Find his opinion and you will know whats wrong.

 

[Mistermj]

You're an idiot don't you have some picks to shill?

Did you ever notice it is the behavior of the libs here that is most embarrassing?

Yeah ...me too.

Now please...instead of name calling...expand on your expert energy analysis again.

Just like two weeks ago you told us the Canadian healthcare system was so great...right before the reports of it imploding came in.

LMAO...:missingte:missingte:missingte

 

[mrcrash]

We get what you are saying. It's so sad and scary. You are short changed at the grocery store it is the wacky libs. You go to see a movie and it is sold out, clearly the wacky libs. Why bother with reality.

 

[kingbill]

Did you ever notice it is the behavior of the libs here that is most embarrassing?

Yeah ...me too.

Now please...instead of name calling...expand on your expert energy analysis again.

Just like two weeks ago you told us the Canadian healthcare system was so great...right before the reports of it imploding came in.

LMAO...:missingte:missingte:missingte

Pot meet kettle kettle meet pot...the Imploding hyperbole is what the head of the Doctors use to squeeze a couple more bucks out of the System. We still have a lower top level income tax and a lower % of GDP spent on our system. My health insurance costs me $1200 a year for 100% coverage. How much do you pay...or are you one of these social conservatives who acts more like a conservative socialist and belongs to a Union?

 

[barman]

KBILL, your $1200 also covers your squeeze and your baby, eh?

 

[kingbill]

KBILL, your $1200 also covers your squeeze and your baby, eh?

family of 4

 

[Mistermj]

Pot meet kettle kettle meet pot...the Imploding hyperbole is what the head of the Doctors use to squeeze a couple more bucks out of the System. We still have a lower top level income tax and a lower % of GDP spent on our system. My health insurance costs me $1200 a year for 100% coverage. How much do you pay...or are you one of these social conservatives who acts more like a conservative socialist and belongs to a Union?

Who cares what you pay?

Lotteries to see a doctor?...waiting for ICU rooms?

Americans will never put up with that.

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[OnWisconsin]

fuck canada. why is a canadian pimping their system so hard? besides, even b.o. said the canadian system won't work here.

all due respect king. lot of european socialists would love to see the u.s. adopt socialist policies. fuck that. let's look at a legitimate plan that takes care of the poor and lowers the cost of the middle class -- not a plan that adopts the poor while raising the costs/limiting the choice of the middle class. as a middle class citizen, i'd rather pay an extra percent or two to guarantee myself of the plan i currently have than to have my plan left up to the government....

as a matter of fact, tax the sumbitches that don't have plans and enroll them in the government plan....there ya go....and make every sumbitch in congress go into the government plan....kennedy'd probably be dead by now....and dodd would be nervous....

 

[kingbill]

fuck canada. why is a canadian pimping their system so hard? besides, even b.o. said the canadian system won't work here.

all due respect king. lot of european socialists would love to see the u.s. adopt socialist policies. fuck that. let's look at a legitimate plan that takes care of the poor and lowers the cost of the middle class -- not a plan that adopts the poor while raising the costs/limiting the choice of the middle class. as a middle class citizen, i'd rather pay an extra percent or two to guarantee myself of the plan i currently have than to have my plan left up to the government....

as a matter of fact, tax the sumbitches that don't have plans and enroll them in the government plan....there ya go....and make every sumbitch in congress go into the government plan....kennedy'd probably be dead by now....and dodd would be nervous....

I'll defend the Canadian system because it's been under attack from the meat head pundits and GayJ. I've said before that a Canadian System wouldn't work in the US because the US government and it's population is so divided they could never make it work. I'm beginning to the US would fuck up Apple Pie...

 

[OnWisconsin]

Fuck you hillbilly. ...

i like beerz and a fat rib eye....