Posted on 01/24/2013 5:16:02 AM PST by DeaconBenjamin
Brisbane company Linc Energy says independent studies have confirmed a major shale oil source in South Australia's far north, which officials have estimated could be worth $20 trillion.
The company says US-consultants have carried out drilling and geological and seismic surveys around Coober Pedy.
Linc Energy holds rights over more than 65,000 square kilometres of land in the Arckaringa Basin and started explorations in 2008.
In a statement to the Stock Exchange, the company said reports from US-based consultants indicate underlying rock formations "are rich in oil and gas-prone kerogen".
The company says up to 233 billion barrels of oil are estimated to be trapped in the shale.
Chief executive Peter Bond says even if the amount of retrievable oil is well below that, the discovery is still "bigger than the Cooper Basin and Bass Strait combined".
"If you stress test it right down and you only took the very sweetest spots in the absolute known areas and you do nothing else, it's about 3.5 billion [barrels] and that's sort of worse-case scenario," he said.
"So if you took the 233 billion, well, you're talking Saudi Arabia numbers. It's massive, it's just huge.
"We've also spent a lot of time with our own geologists and external geologists trying to unlock what's the best option there.
"What it could do is really turn this thing into the next boom, so where you saw coal-bed methane transform Queensland and the gas industry, shale could and I think will transform South Australia and a potential oil boom."
But Mr Bond says it could cost up to $300 million to prepare the site for production.
"We've got something in excess of a billion-dollar market cap... but the issue here isn't just capital. It's the expertise to unlock the acreage as well," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at au.news.yahoo.com ...
The less money for the Arabs and terrorist the better for all!!
Are their enviro nuts as bad as ours?
Will the aborigines sell that land for beads?
Will the Chinese buy it out from under the Australians?
We’re about to discover that the kangaroo is an endangered species.
The Aussies haven’t sought my advice but if they want it, they should meet ALL of there own needs first before they sell a drop to anyone else. As I see the world developing, energy self-sufficiency will be critical to national sovereignty. Good on ya, mate.
You hit the nail on the head.
China would consider that much resource a very valid reason to invade, and the UN would back them.
Tie mi kangaroo down sport!
Wipe mi butt when I’m dead Fred!
Global social justice will suck Australa’s milk shake dry, one way or another.
But...what about peak oil?
love news that leaves Peak Oil stupids twisting in the wind.
I thought it was "Tan me hide when I've died, Clyde!"
Oh, wait. It wouldn’t be “fair” if they were to not share their find with the less fortunate in the world. Why...I’m sure the aboriginies should be given at least half of the oil. How cruel of these white interlopers to find this oil.
Hoarding isn't necessary. Drilling for oil is a win/win in all situations. Local production ensures sovereignity in case of war or disaster, and oil is completely fungible. Any increase in supply, anywhere, decreases the power of OPEC.
Another blow to the unwashed Bedouins ...
LOL! That about sums it up.
That certainly makes sense.But remember that the country has a very small population (I think it's around 20 million) so meeting their own energy requirements might not be that difficult.
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