With all the talk that global oil production has reached its peak, and will only slowly decline from here, you may be surprised to learn that there is a vast untapped reserve that could possibly yield 1.4 trillion barrels of oil, enough to supply the daily oil needs of the United States for 191 years.
And where is this incredible reserve --The Middle East, Russia or Brazil? None of the above. It’s right here in the U.S. Specifically, in the great open spaces of Colorado’s Piceance Basin and the Uintah Basin in Utah.
So why isn't the U.S. tapping this liquid gold and ending the country's reliance on foreign sources of oil, regional instability and governments unfriendly to America? Well, as with many things, there’s a catch. It isn’t exactly oil. Well, not yet. Which brings us to a little history.
In the Cretaceous Period, roughly 100 million years ago, the vast Western Interior Sea covered much of western Colorado and eastern Utah. In the same way oil deposits were created elsewhere in the world, lots and lots of animals, fish, plankton, etc. died and settled on the sea bottom. Eventually, they turned to organic-rich shale rock. And the remnants of that organic material remain in the rock today, as a compound called kerogen – the building blocks of oil.
“I like to call it ‘teenage’ oil,'” says Glen Vawter, the director of the National Oil Shale Association. “If it had been buried for maybe a few more million years, it would have been petroleum.”
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4 comments:
They would rather keep us as tax paying slaves.
idiot at 8:43, maybe it's because people out west would like to be able to drink their water and use it to raise crops and cattle. You know that whole food and water portion of the 3 basic needs.
get "the annointed 1" and his ilk out of the way. abolish the epa. let's move on and get our nation back on strong footing.
11:37 you need to do more research on this topic.
3:51, oh wise one, please show us all where shale oil extraction is NOT accompanied by significant impacts to surrounding watersheds and aquifiers, especially areas where water resources are relatively scarce.
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