What source claims 18 Billion as technically recoverable?
81 years...do I have 100? 100? Anyone going for 100? 81 years...going once...going twice.....
I was taking a figure purported to come from the state of North Dakota in this paper: http://www.nd.gov/ndic/ic-press/bakken-form-06.pdf
The paper was cited in a Wikipedia article. Now that I have read the article, I’m not sure where they got “18 Billion”. Some figures from the paper are far higher.
The estimates for the amount of oil in the ground range all over the map. Furthermore, the estimates of how much is recoverable also range from 1% to 50%.
The price of oil actually factors into the equation. If crude prices increase, then the amount recoverable will also increase since marginal methods will be developed and employed with greater economic rewards.
See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakken_formation