DRILL BABY DRILL - The Memorial Day holiday when we should have been focused on honoring those who made the supreme sacrifice in defense of our country found most pissed at the pump. (Link) As Angelenos we are the most affected and the most vulnerable.
The country is facing:
● Turmoil abroad and rising costs at home causing consumers to shell out more at the pump.
● Volatility in the Middle East.
● Growing demand from Asia.
● Gasoline formulation requirements. Here come the environmentalists.
Recent developments highlight the opportunity for the United States to become energy independent. It is imperative that we become independent.
Here’s an excerpt from testimony about the Green River Formation that was provided on 10 May 2012 by Anu K. Mittal, Government Accountability Office (GAO) Director of Natural Resources and Environment, to the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.3
“The Green River Formation—an assemblage of over 1,000 feet of sedimentary rocks that lie beneath parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming—contains the world’s largest deposits of oil shale. The United States Geological Service estimates that the Green River Formation contains about 3 trillion barrels of oil, and about half of this may be recoverable, depending on available technology and economic conditions. The Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, estimates that 30 to 60 percent of the oil shale in the Green River Formation can be recovered. At the midpoint of this estimate, almost half of the 3 trillion barrels of oil would be recoverable. This is an amount about equal to the entire world’s proven oil reserves.”
Let’s take another look at the Keystone XL project. Keystone XL is a proposed $7 billion pipeline that would run nearly 2,000 miles to connect Canada’s oil sands to refineries around Houston and the Gulf of Mexico that are designed to handle the heavy crude that the sands produce. It would be the longest oil pipeline outside of Russia and China, and has become a potent symbol in a growing fight that pits energy security against environmental risk. It would be able to carry more than half a million barrels a day.
Let’s revisit some more really good news. The US Geological Service recently issued a report on a really big find – the Bakken Oil Fields. It is vast stretching from Montana into Canada. There is enough oil for 2,000 years and more. That’s not just good news for Americans, but for you and me.
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 in the world today, reports the Denver Post. Our current US budget indebtedness of 15 trillion dollars could easily be paid off within 5 minutes. It could kick-start the economies of the Western World.
We have more oil inside our borders and off shore, than all other proven reserves on Earth combined. (Link) [[ http://citywatchla.com/archive/2742-waffling-on-keystone-ignoring-us-reserves-has-us-over-a-barrel--oil-that-is ]]
Official estimates are:
● 8 times as much oil than 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 right here in the good ‘ole US of A
Let’s take another look at the Bakken oil reserves. Estimates for the total amount of oil that could be recovered from the Bakken (North Dakota) formation range wildly, from a few billion barrels to exponentially more. In an unpublished but nonetheless widely referenced paper from 2000, Leigh Price of the United States Geological Survey estimated that 200 billion barrels of oil could ultimately be extracted.
In summary we need to start drilling. When we start drilling we will find that:
● Hundreds of thousands of jobs related to oil extraction and refining will be created.
● Hundreds of thousands of support jobs will be created.
● Millions of other new jobs will be created as the stronger economy ripples.
● The housing market will recover.
● The US will no longer be dependent on governments that despise us.
● United States indebtedness of 15 trillion dollars will be paid within 5 minutes.
● More money will be available for unparalleled investment in medicine, science, and technology research. Unimaginable advances will occur.
●Less money will be available to OPEC for armaments.
The United States will again solidify its position as preeminent leader of the free world economies.
Everybody in the states will again be able to say my cup runneth over.
(Kay Martin is a writer and a contributor to CityWatch. His years of travel and work included tours in Russia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, Hawaii, Latin America, and the Pacific. His new book “Along for the Ride” will be out and available shortly. He can be contacted at [email protected].) –cw
Tags: Kay Martin, oil, drilling in US, Green River Formation, US oil reserves
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 43
Pub: May 29, 2012
