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."
Closest to Arches - the Uinta Basin is north of there, but quite a ways north. The richest ail shale is the eastern part of the basin that extends into Colorado. The Green River formation is in the area where Utah, Wyoming and Colorado come together and that's where the oil shale and oil sands are concentrated. The dotted line area in Utah below is roughly the Uinta Basin. I assume you know where the parks are.
Probably the reason Canada is ahead of his in receovering shale oil, is because they don't have to contend with our epa. 30 years ago I heard people in the oil business talking about the feasibility of getting shale oil. Orin hatch has just learned this?
What the heck is ail shale? Ok... oil shale.
bttt
As I recall, I made this very guess (not specific to Colorado/Utah though) just a couple of weeks ago!
Washington, DC also sits on a huge oil reserve... unfortunately, it's snake oil.
No, it took more like 25 years to develope the tar sands. It has only recently become profitable.
Just noting that the Alberta Oil Sands are in an unpopulated, undeveloped area. Extracting the oil means moving huge amounts of tar sands to the refineries ie. open-pit mining.
They sometimes say the Great Wall of China is the only structure you can see from space. Wrong, you can't see the Great Wall but you can see the biggest open pit mine in the Alberta Oil Sands.
Eventually the mines will be reclaimed but the total area that will eventually be open-pit mined covers thousands of square miles.
Don't know if the folks in Utah would tolerate this.
And that goes for Alaskan oil too. It is great that it is there. We may need it some day. Just not today.
I wouldn't tolerate it if it touches national park land. I'd sooner have an energy plan that relies on Shrillary's flatulance.
---ah--a voice of sanity. I , too worked on oil shale projects for one of the large San Francisco engineering companies in the late 70's and early '80's--by the time it all shut down, we too realized we were looking at production costs approaching $100/bbl-----
Dude, 420 day is over, it's time to come down.
Why, approval from the tree-huggers, of course.
Oil Shale and Tar Sands are not the same thing. At 50.00/barrel some tar sands are profitable, not all, no shale oil is.
Some tar sands in Canada are now marginally profitable.
All the major energy companies have had pilot plants to develop more economical recovery techniques running and experimenting for over 50 years.
If you don't mind paying around $100.00/barrel equivilent prices, then we have enough shale oil, tar sands natural gas, coal and tretiarily recoverable petroleum, to supply all our energy needs for the next 400 years.
So9
RE 2
But lets use the other Country's oil up first so we'll still have ours. I do agree that I hate being dependent on other Country's oil.
>> It's also highly radioactive. (This is the stuff they used to make the now banned "black boards" out of). <<
???!!!!
I thought they were just less convenient than the marker-boards ("White boards")
Are you saying they disappeared because they were banned for being RADIOACTIVE???
It must be crushed, placed in a container and heated to extract the oil-like product, then the waste produced which is of at least 50% greater volume than the original rock, must be disposed of in some way---at present, the process consumes more energy than can be extracted in the form of oil---
ping
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