OPEC acknowledges shale oil supply may be significant

Reuters ^ | November 8, 2012 | Alex Lawler

[2ndDivisionVet]

OPEC acknowledged for the first time on Thursday that technology for extracting oil and gas from shale is changing the global supply picture significantly, and said demand for crude will rise more slowly than it had previously expected.

In its annual World Oil Outlook, OPEC cut its forecast of global oil demand to 2016 due to economic weakness and also increased its forecast of supplies from countries outside the 12-nation exporters' group.

"Given recent significant increases in North American shale oil and shale gas production, it is now clear that these resources might play an increasingly important role in non-OPEC medium- and long-term supply prospects," the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in the report.

OPEC has been slower than some to acknowledge the impact that new technologies such as hydraulic fracturing - known as "fracking" - may have on supply. Conoco's Chief Executive Ryan Lance has gone so far as to predict North America could become self-sufficient in oil and gas by 2025.

In OPEC's new forecast, shale oil will contribute 2 million barrels per day (bpd) to supply by 2020 and 3 million bpd by 2035. For comparison, 2 million bpd is equal to the current output of OPEC member Nigeria, which is Africa's top exporter...

[2ndDivisionVet]

I think that's vastly underestimating it.

[maine yankee]

This administration will do everything in it’s power to reverse this trend.

[Truth29]

An Obama dream is that US citizens will die freezing in the dark while sitting on vast stores of energy that are locked up by the Regime.

[Venturer]

I thought Obama just closed up a large federal shale deposit last week.

[Dallas59]

We just can’t have 2.0 earthquakes anymore!/s

[Erik Latranyi]

This administration will do everything in it’s power to reverse this trend.

Interior proposal would limit commercial oil shale development on federal lands in West

[wesagain]

The answer is simple.....Buy the U.S. - it’s obviously for sale with the help of the federal reserve.

[Sherman Logan]

There’s a very odd meme with the shale oil. Most of the stories seem to assume shale is found only in North America.

It isn’t, of course. It’s found below all continents.

So China, and Russia, and Europe and many other countries that presently don’t have much oil will soon have the potential to produce their own.

This may not create a huge drop in prices, because as I understand it the cost of production for shale oil averages a good bit higher than what it costs the Saudis to turn a tap. Nobody is going to keep drilling for shale oil when the price drops near the cost of production.

But it does mean that most of the political power of the Arab lands is in the process of going bye-bye. It was based on their ability to shut off the flow of oil, and soon they won’t be able to do that.

Hooray!

[SunkenCiv]

Michael Weaver posted this on Facebook:

• Obama: "I want to make sure we end before the call to prayer"
• Iran Deploys Troops, Ballistic Missiles To Eritrea [2008]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks 2ndDivisionVet.

[PIF]

“An Obama dream is that US citizens will die freezing in the dark while sitting on vast stores of energy that are locked up by the Regime.”

While the political elite live in palaces.

While Obama in his fifth term is driven in his limo past dusty villages.

While Obama sees the wisdom in his humble people's eyes.

While Obama relives his fond childhood memories.

While the left realizes an other longterm goal of drastically reducing the country's population to a more manageable size ...

[Ben Ficklin]

Do you guys know the difference between oil shale and shale oil?

There are two technologies for in situ retorting to produce the keragen(not oil) that can be processed into oil and is found in the Green River shale which is located in CO, WY, and Utah.

Exxon has "freeze wall" retorting and Conoco has "toe to heel" retorting but neither of these technologies is economically feasible.

As for the oil sands deposits(bitumen) interspersed within the Green River shale, that is proceeding on state land in Utah.

[redfreedom]

“While Obama in his fifth term is driven in his limo past dusty villages.”

Isn’t that what it is like in his native Africa?

It reminds me of Rhodesia. Once a prosperous nation adequately feeding itself, it even produced color TV’s. It was reduced to what is now Zimbabwe.

At the rate we are going, in 50 years somewhere someone will write: “That reminds me of the United States. Once a prosperous nation feeding the world and a leader in technology. It was reduced to the Democratic Socialist States of North America.

[RicocheT]

Not to worry OPEC, Great Leader Obama is protecting the interests of Mid-East and South American tyrants, sheiks and Islamists by shutting down fracking with EPA regulations and closing Federal land in our west by the stroke of His mighty pen. The party for OPEC will continue, America will not be energy independent and we who live in the US will continue to pay big oil our dollars, earned or from our entitlement checks.

[PIF]

“While Obama in his fifth term is driven in his limo past dusty villages.”

“Isn’t that what it is like in his native Africa?”

See “Dreams of My Father” ... was in Indonesia, I think.

“It was reduced to the Democratic Socialist States of North America - one of the poorest nations on Earth ... Children in India and China are urged to finish all the food on their plate, else admonished by their parents: ‘Remember all the starving people in the DSSNA’. “

[2ndDivisionVet]

That shale will still be there when Mr. Obama is a bad memory. It ain’t going anywhere.

[redfreedom]

“Remember all the starving people in the DSSNA.“

LOL, I hear ya. As a kid I was told the same thing about China, which I guess is where you are coming from.

I tried the same thing on one of my kids, I said you better clean your plate, just think of all those starving kids in China. Her reply: “Let’s box it up and mail it to them”.