Oil Shale Potential - 800 Billion Barrels of Oil!

SUBMAN1 · 08-04-08, 02:36 PM

Told you there is a ton of oil in Utah, etc!

I bet some people here will still say that the US Government is lying. Hahahaha! The funny part is that this could make us an 'oil exporter'.

Guess what? We haven't even begun to touch ANWR, Pacific drilling, Atlantic drilling, Tar Sands, or the real biggie - coal to oil.

http://www.doi.gov/news/08_News_Releases/080722.html

-S

Western Oil Shale Potential:
800 Billion Barrels of Recoverable Oil

Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter from which oil may be produced. The regulations would provide for a thoughtful, phased approach to oil shale development on public lands in the West.
[Photo Credit: Argonne National Laboratory]

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management today published proposed regulations to establish a commercial oil shale program that could result in the addition of up to 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil from lands in the western United States.
In keeping with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, the BLM is proposing regulations that would provide the critical “rules of the road” on which private investors will rely in determining whether to make future financial commitments to prospective oil shale projects.

“As Americans pay more than $4 for a gallon of gasoline and watch energy prices continue to climb higher and higher, we need to be doing more to develop our own energy here at home, through resources such as oil shale,” said Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne. “Instead, I find it ironic that we are asking countries halfway around the world to produce more for us.”

Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter from which oil may be produced. The regulations would provide for a thoughtful, phased approach to oil shale development on public lands in the West. Commercial development of oil shale will not begin until it is technologically viable, which is not expected for several years.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is only publishing proposed regulations at this time because the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2008 prohibits the agency from using FY2008 funds to prepare or publish final regulations. The President has called on Congress to remove the ban on finalizing oil shale program regulations.

Before any oil shale leases are issued, site-specific National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis would be completed on the proposed development. Once a lease is issued, the lessee will also have to obtain all required permits from state and local authorities, under their respective permitting processes, before any operations can begin.

The proposed leasing regulations incorporate provisions of the Energy Policy Act and the Mineral Leasing Act relating to: maximum oil shale lease size; maximum acreage limitations; rental; and lease diligence. The rule will also propose a range of royalty rate options, and will ask for public input on the royalty provisions. The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposed rules.

The regulations address provisions of the Energy Policy Act that establish work requirements and milestones to ensure diligent development of leases. Standard components of a BLM leasing program ─ including lease administration and operations ─ would be included, as well as additional NEPA documentation requirements for lease applicants.

In remarks last month calling on Congress to expand domestic energy production, President Bush noted the “extraordinary potential” of oil shale resources on public lands in the West. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. holds more than half of the world’s oil shale resources.

The largest known deposits of oil shale are located in a 16,000-square mile area in the Green River formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Shale formations in that area hold the equivalent of up to 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Federal lands comprise 72 percent of the total surface of oil shale acreage in the Green River formation.

“Oil shale is a strategically important domestic energy source that should be developed to reduce the nation’s growing dependence on oil from politically and economically unstable foreign sources,” said BLM Director James Caswell.

Throughout the process, the BLM will collaborate and consult with affected states, tribes and local governments to ensure that their interests and concerns surrounding the oil shale program continue to be addressed. For instance, the site-specific NEPA analyses would include the same opportunities for public involvement and comment that are part of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement process.

The regulations are just one of several steps designed to harness these vast energy resources. The BLM has also issued research, development and demonstration (RD&D) leases for five oil shale projects in Colorado’s Piceance Basin and one in Utah. The BLM is also preparing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement that would amend several resource management plans to open lands for application for potential oil shale leasing in the future.

The Oil Shale Regulation on the electronic desk of the Federal Register today is at
http://federalregister.gov/OFRUpload...8-16275_PI.pdf

STEED · 08-04-08, 02:40 PM

Dose this mean you guys can tell the Arabs to get stuffed?

And the possible war with Iran has been canceled as well?

SUBMAN1 · 08-04-08, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by STEED

Dose this mean you guys can tell the Arabs to get stuffed?

And the possible war with Iran has been canceled as well?

Pretty much a Saudi Arabia in Utah. And this is just proven resources. There plenty more unproven here.

The US is probably bleeding those guys dry over there. There must be some form of strategy going on.

-S

Fish · 08-04-08, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter from which oil may be produced. The regulations would provide for a thoughtful, phased approach to oil shale development on public lands in the West. Commercial development of oil shale will not begin until it is technologically viable, which is not expected for several years.

So, when will it be at the pump and at what price?

SUBMAN1 · 08-04-08, 02:55 PM

Just doing a bit of math here. If the US uses approximately 20 million barrels per day, that means it could live off this resource exclusively for 40,000 days, which is equal to 110 years alone!

This means I have to revive my calculations. Add another 100 years for whats sitting in AK, 250 years for coal to oil, Tack on another 50 years from drilling off our shores the tar sands, and this leads me to my next question:

WHY THE FRICK IS MY OIL COSTING HOW MUCH PER BARREL? CRAP! (#%@*@$#(&*#

-S

SUBMAN1 · 08-04-08, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish

Quote:

Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter from which oil may be produced. The regulations would provide for a thoughtful, phased approach to oil shale development on public lands in the West. Commercial development of oil shale will not begin until it is technologically viable, which is not expected for several years.

So, when will it be at the pump and at what price?

BP has got it down to about $30 a barrel, so that is not true. Leave it to the Brits to find a solution for weird problems.

-S

STEED · 08-04-08, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish

Quote:

Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter from which oil may be produced. The regulations would provide for a thoughtful, phased approach to oil shale development on public lands in the West. Commercial development of oil shale will not begin until it is technologically viable, which is not expected for several years.

So, when will it be at the pump and at what price?

BP has got it down to about $30 a barrel, so that is not true. Leave it to the Brits to find a solution for weird problems.

-S

Come on SUBMAN1 I'm not a bloody miracle worker you know. :rotfl:

Or maybe I am.

STEED · 08-04-08, 03:40 PM

Quote:

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management today published proposed regulations to establish a commercial oil shale program that could result in the addition of up to 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil from lands in the western United States.

Have they 100% no legal guff & BS established this as a real hard fact set in stone?

Tchocky · 08-04-08, 03:45 PM

There is a major water crisis on the way for many regions, including the Western US.
For each barrel of shale oil produced, 2.5 barrels of water are required.
So that's 2 trillion barrels of water that has to come from somewhere.

For every tonne of oil shale you process, 6 gallons of contaminated waste water is produced. Given that there's 3.3 trillion tonnes of oil shale in the US, that makes 19.8 trillion gallons of sludge.

Let's not forget that this stuff has to be burnt before it's usable, so there's that environmental damage as well.

There's probably a cleaner way to do things.

EDIT - From Fortune magazine, don't fall for the energy independence implications

Quote:

Shell declines to get too specific about how much oil it thinks it can pump at peak production levels, but one DOE study contends that the region can sustain two million barrels a day by 2020 and three million by 2040. Other government estimates have posited an upper range of five million. At that level, Western oil shale would rival the largest oilfields in the world.
Of course, considering the U.S. uses almost 21 million barrels a day and imports about ten million (and rising), even the most optimistic projections do not get the country to the nirvana of “energy independence.”

Sailor Steve · 08-04-08, 03:46 PM

Quote:

...proposed regulations...could result...
Have they 100% no legal guff & BS established this as a real hard fact set in stone?

Nowhere close to 100%, and hardly set in stone; but it's a good start.

I should know - I live in Utah.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tchocky

There's probably a cleaner way to do things.

I completely agree, but it's good to have options.

Platapus · 08-04-08, 03:48 PM

We just had a thread on this topic

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=140058

Had a good discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of oil shale there.

Tchocky · 08-04-08, 03:50 PM

I hear you Steve, but unrenewable fossil fuels form such a central part of modern economies that there is no avenue that won't be fully exploited. The prize for companies is just too great. Large-scale moves towards renewables won't happen by themselves until every last drop has been squeezed. Hence governments.

STEED · 08-04-08, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Quote:

...proposed regulations...could result...
Have they 100% no legal guff & BS established this as a real hard fact set in stone?

Nowhere close to 100%, and hardly set in stone; but it's a good start.

I should know - I live in Utah.

Well its a wait and see situation then. Pass me the popcorn this could be some time.

UnderseaLcpl · 08-04-08, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tchocky

I hear you Steve, but unrenewable fossil fuels form such a central part of modern economies that there is no avenue that won't be fully exploited. The prize for companies is just too great. Large-scale moves towards renewables won't happen by themselves until every last drop has been squeezed. Hence governments.

Not so. Large-scale moves towards renewables won't happen until scarcity of resources forces the prices up to undesireable levels, at which point companies will look for something else. The ones that had the foresight to begin earlier than that will have the advantage. Hence, the complete waste of billions of taxpayer dollars on researching renewable energy.

baggygreen · 08-04-08, 06:53 PM

I'd just like to point out tchocky has raised one of my pet hates, that is people saying 'were running out of water".

Doesnt happen.

Water changes form, from solid to liquid to gas, but it is always able to change back again.

It doesnt just vanish. There is just as much water now as there was 5000 years ago...

the only thing that changes is its form

08-04-08, 02:36 PM	#1
SUBMAN1 Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,866 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Oil Shale Potential - 800 Billion Barrels of Oil! Told you there is a ton of oil in Utah, etc! I bet some people here will still say that the US Government is lying. Hahahaha! The funny part is that this could make us an 'oil exporter'. Guess what? We haven't even begun to touch ANWR, Pacific drilling, Atlantic drilling, Tar Sands, or the real biggie - coal to oil. http://www.doi.gov/news/08_News_Releases/080722.html -S Western Oil Shale Potential: 800 Billion Barrels of Recoverable Oil Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter from which oil may be produced. The regulations would provide for a thoughtful, phased approach to oil shale development on public lands in the West. [Photo Credit: Argonne National Laboratory] WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management today published proposed regulations to establish a commercial oil shale program that could result in the addition of up to 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil from lands in the western United States. In keeping with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, the BLM is proposing regulations that would provide the critical “rules of the road” on which private investors will rely in determining whether to make future financial commitments to prospective oil shale projects. “As Americans pay more than $4 for a gallon of gasoline and watch energy prices continue to climb higher and higher, we need to be doing more to develop our own energy here at home, through resources such as oil shale,” said Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne. “Instead, I find it ironic that we are asking countries halfway around the world to produce more for us.” Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter from which oil may be produced. The regulations would provide for a thoughtful, phased approach to oil shale development on public lands in the West. Commercial development of oil shale will not begin until it is technologically viable, which is not expected for several years. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is only publishing proposed regulations at this time because the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2008 prohibits the agency from using FY2008 funds to prepare or publish final regulations. The President has called on Congress to remove the ban on finalizing oil shale program regulations. Before any oil shale leases are issued, site-specific National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis would be completed on the proposed development. Once a lease is issued, the lessee will also have to obtain all required permits from state and local authorities, under their respective permitting processes, before any operations can begin. The proposed leasing regulations incorporate provisions of the Energy Policy Act and the Mineral Leasing Act relating to: maximum oil shale lease size; maximum acreage limitations; rental; and lease diligence. The rule will also propose a range of royalty rate options, and will ask for public input on the royalty provisions. The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposed rules. The regulations address provisions of the Energy Policy Act that establish work requirements and milestones to ensure diligent development of leases. Standard components of a BLM leasing program ─ including lease administration and operations ─ would be included, as well as additional NEPA documentation requirements for lease applicants. In remarks last month calling on Congress to expand domestic energy production, President Bush noted the “extraordinary potential” of oil shale resources on public lands in the West. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. holds more than half of the world’s oil shale resources. The largest known deposits of oil shale are located in a 16,000-square mile area in the Green River formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Shale formations in that area hold the equivalent of up to 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Federal lands comprise 72 percent of the total surface of oil shale acreage in the Green River formation. “Oil shale is a strategically important domestic energy source that should be developed to reduce the nation’s growing dependence on oil from politically and economically unstable foreign sources,” said BLM Director James Caswell. Throughout the process, the BLM will collaborate and consult with affected states, tribes and local governments to ensure that their interests and concerns surrounding the oil shale program continue to be addressed. For instance, the site-specific NEPA analyses would include the same opportunities for public involvement and comment that are part of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement process. The regulations are just one of several steps designed to harness these vast energy resources. The BLM has also issued research, development and demonstration (RD&D) leases for five oil shale projects in Colorado’s Piceance Basin and one in Utah. The BLM is also preparing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement that would amend several resource management plans to open lands for application for potential oil shale leasing in the future. The Oil Shale Regulation on the electronic desk of the Federal Register today is at http://federalregister.gov/OFRUpload...8-16275_PI.pdf __________________

08-04-08, 02:40 PM	#2
STEED Lucky Jack Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Down Town UK Posts: 27,695 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 48	Dose this mean you guys can tell the Arabs to get stuffed? And the possible war with Iran has been canceled as well? __________________ Dr Who rest in peace 1963-2017. To borrow Davros saying...I NAME YOU CHIBNALL THE DESTROYER OF DR WHO YOU KILLED IT!

08-04-08, 02:55 PM	#5
SUBMAN1 Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,866 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Just doing a bit of math here. If the US uses approximately 20 million barrels per day, that means it could live off this resource exclusively for 40,000 days, which is equal to 110 years alone! This means I have to revive my calculations. Add another 100 years for whats sitting in AK, 250 years for coal to oil, Tack on another 50 years from drilling off our shores the tar sands, and this leads me to my next question: WHY THE FRICK IS MY OIL COSTING HOW MUCH PER BARREL? CRAP! (#%@@$#(&# -S __________________

08-04-08, 03:48 PM	#11
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,361 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	We just had a thread on this topic http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=140058 Had a good discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of oil shale there. __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

08-04-08, 03:50 PM	#12
Tchocky Navy Seal Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 5,874 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	I hear you Steve, but unrenewable fossil fuels form such a central part of modern economies that there is no avenue that won't be fully exploited. The prize for companies is just too great. Large-scale moves towards renewables won't happen by themselves until every last drop has been squeezed. Hence governments. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

08-04-08, 06:53 PM	#15
baggygreen Sea Lord Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Canberra, ACT, Down Under (really On Top) Posts: 1,880 Downloads: 7 Uploads: 0	I'd just like to point out tchocky has raised one of my pet hates, that is people saying 'were running out of water". Doesnt happen. Water changes form, from solid to liquid to gas, but it is always able to change back again. It doesnt just vanish. There is just as much water now as there was 5000 years ago... the only thing that changes is its form