Posted on 04/21/2005 2:56:45 AM PDT by RWR8189
As a prominent advocate for encouraging unconventional energy sources, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was asked to testify today in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on his efforts to develop fuel from a vast untapped domestic oil reserve in tar sandsand oil shale -- a large part of which sits in eastern Utah.
"Who would have guessed that in just Colorado and Utah, there is more recoverable oil than in the Middle East?" Hatch said. "We just don't count it among our nation's oil reserves because it is not yet being developed commercially. I find it disturbing that Utah imports oil from Canada tar sands, even though we have a larger tar sands resource within our own boundaries that remains undeveloped."
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, recoverable oil shale in the western United States -- located mainly in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming -- exceeds one trillion barrels and is the richest and most geographically concentrated oil shale and tar sands resource in the world. Hatch noted that Canada recognized the potential of the large tar sands deposits in the province of Alberta and developed a government policy to go promote their development -- increasing its oil reserves by more than a factor of 10.
Hatch is working with Senators Bennett (R-Utah), Allard (R-Colo.), and Salazar (D-Colo.) to develop a bill that would encourage development of commercially viable oil from oil shale and tar sands.
"I cannot sit by while gas prices are going through the roof, and while I hear from constituent after constituent about the disastrous effect gas prices are having on their livelihoods and their businesses," Hatch said. "Why has Canada moved forward in leaps and bounds, while the United States has yet to take even a baby step in this direction? I believe the difference has been the government policies of the respective countries. We need to change that."
GO FOR IT!! USE THAT OIL! I certainly don't want to be dependant on other countries when we have so much oil to tap in here.....the resource is here, let's use it!
Very interesting news. What is Congress waiting for? Drill!
I think he knows the answer to that question.
I have a gunny sack of this tar sand. It is very fine sand, like from a seashore. The amalgum is only slightly more juicy than road asphalt. A reverse solvent wash cleans it out of the sand quite easily and leaves a heavy tar.
/U.N.
This is an opportunity for the USA to stick it to radical Islam.
How long before tree-hugging Gaia worshippers begin screaming and howling about this?
Bah, $2 a gallon for gas isn't that expensive. Use the rest of the world's oil while it's cheap, then tap it.
:-)
FWIW, I think we should deplete the oil reserves from the Middle East before we tap into our stash.
It's also highly radioactive. (This is the stuff they used to make the now banned "black boards" out of).
That particular deposit could supply all our energy needs for many centuries.
M. Espinola
Very interesting news. What is Congress waiting for? Drill!
Wait a minute. I thought government was evil. I thought the government was your enemy. I thought it was going to take your children away from you to indoctrinate them in the ways of socialism to usher in the reign of the Antichrist. What is this now about calling the Government to intervene in the economy. This is scandalous! We are entering the end times! Yaaaaaaaaaahhhh!
Sen. Hatch is a complete buffoon.
I was a cost engineer on the original Exxon/TOSCO Colony Shale Oil project in 1980-81. Since the 1920s, petroleum engineers have been saying that if the price of oil was just $20-$30 per barrel higher, shale oil conversion would be economical. In 1980-81, with Exxon and everybody else expecting the price of oil to go to $80-$100 per barrel, a huge project was started up in Western Colorado near Parachute Creek and Rifle (Grand Junction is the closest real town) to turn shale oil into crude.
There are a million reasons why the project failed, including but not limited to technical problems, cost overruns on an extremely large and complex project, uneconomical location (over 9,000 foot altitude in many places) and when shale oil is heated and pressurized to crack open the rock to release the crude the rock pops like popcorn and you end up with a lot more detritus than you started with.
The tar sands in Canada are so completely different from shale oil that it's laughable. Hatch is a buffoon and should keep his mouth shut - which is asking too much of a Senator, I realize.
"Better to keep your mouth shut and look like an idiot than open it and remove all doubt" . . . . . . .
"There are a million reasons why the project failed, including but not limited to technical problems, cost overruns on an extremely large and complex project, uneconomical location (over 9,000 foot altitude in many places) and when shale oil is heated and pressurized to crack open the rock to release the crude the rock pops like popcorn and you end up with a lot more detritus than you started with."
Hey after all that taxpayer dough dumped into his best friend Teddy's 'big dig' can't blame a guy for trying....
After reading your comments I believe you have entered into your own end times.
Just illustrating absurdity with absurdity.
btttt
One backhanded advantage to this is that the Canadians have probably done a fair amount of developing the technology, so the US can benefit from that aspect of the oil sands development up there.
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