On Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:21:05 -0400, Captain Yogi of Woodstock wrote:


Directional drilling has been around since the '40s when Sperry
developed the gyroscope during the war and that technology was applied
to drilling. That technology was improved on in the early '70s with mud
motors (I was actually on the first test bore - Texaco #5 in the Gulf).
The more recent innovation that I'm familiar with is Auto Trek with the
Quantec bits built by Baker/Hughes.

Not directional drilling, horizontal drilling. The shale formation is @
140' thick, 2 miles down. Tricky target. We used to directional drill
to cover more territory from one location, but horizontal drilling is new
to me.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/02/mul...fracturing-of-
horizontal_29.html

My point is that the field is bigger and more accessible than previously
thought - plus there seems to be a companion field close to it and the
Canadian fields look to have a similar configuration.

If we have the technology and we can access this supply while we build
our "renewable" future and slowly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels
while keeping prices low and buying time to build a more efficient
transmission system (Smart Grid) with more environmentally friendly
energy sources, why not do it?

This rush to IMMEDIATELY stop thinking about our own supplies of fossil
fuels and change to hopefully new sources is silly.

Hey, I can't disagree with anything you say. It isn't going to be *one*
solution, but a multitude of solutions. Nuclear, wind, solar, oil, and
even coal, will play a part, but ultimately, cutting down on our appetite
has to also be a part.