In article ,
says...

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:17:29 -0500, wrote:

There is a story right now on the news saying the US will be a net
exporter of oil by the end of the decade producing more than the
Saudis.

===

And that's good news of course. Our oil will eventually be depleted
however and the renewable energy research should continue unabated.

If we do it right oil will eventually be worth more as an industrial
feedstock than it is as a fuel. You can make electricity from wind,
photons and fusion but you can't make plastic and chemicals that way.

---------------------------------------------------

According to one article I read yesterday the US will become the
largest oil producing nation by 2020 with an output capacity that
exceeds all OPEC nations combined. That's only 8 years away. The
driver has been technical advances in harvesting shale oil and it's
cost effectiveness at today's oil prices.

A claim made in the article blows me away, if true. The article
claims that the entire world has used a total of 1 trillion barrels of
oil in the past 100 years. Recently discovered shale oil reserves
found in the Colorado area is estimated to contain 3 trillion barrels.
There is also a vast supply of shale oil along the east coast,
primarily in the PA area.

If all true, we aren't going to run out of oil soon. In addition, the
USA has an abundance of natural gas.

This all cracks me up. Only ten years ago the hot discussion was
"Peak Oil" and the claims that mankind was quickly depleting all the
remaining natural oil reserves on earth, with no new sources to be
found. Now, if true, Colorado has enough to last for another 300
years or so at the rate of consumption over the past 100 years. It
could last longer, since overall the world's rate of consumption is
declining due to greater efficiency of use.

The trouble is getting it out will be by the scorched earth approach.

"iBoaterer" wrote in message
...


The trouble is getting it out will be by the scorched earth approach.

-------------------------------------

Not so. Newly developed technology does not require strip mining of
the shale. It can be done underground and in place.

“The technical groundwork may be in place for a fundamental shift in
oil shale economics,� the Rand Corporation recently declared.
“Advances in thermally conductive in-situ conversion may enable
shale-derived oil to be competitive with crude oil at prices below $40
per barrel. If this becomes the case, oil shale development may soon
occupy a very prominent position in the national energy agenda.�

In article ,
says...

"iBoaterer" wrote in message
...


The trouble is getting it out will be by the scorched earth approach.

-------------------------------------

Not so. Newly developed technology does not require strip mining of
the shale. It can be done underground and in place.

?The technical groundwork may be in place for a fundamental shift in
oil shale economics,? the Rand Corporation recently declared.
?Advances in thermally conductive in-situ conversion may enable
shale-derived oil to be competitive with crude oil at prices below $40
per barrel. If this becomes the case, oil shale development may soon
occupy a very prominent position in the national energy agenda.?

Sounds like fracking for natural gas, which is NOT without it's quite
heavy impact on the environment.