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It is all a matter of price. I believe (off the top of my head) that the Nazi's produced oil at the equivalent rate of $100 per barrel. As I understand it, the cost now would be roughly $65 per barrel. Basically, if the cost comes way down, or the price of oil goes way up, then it will be worthwhile and private industry will produce oil from coal on their own without the need for the government to get involved.

The big coal reserves are in Wyoming with a moisture content of 35 percent. There is one facility in place that processes the moisture out (and thereby reduces freight costs)moving the BTU value from 8300 to 11,000 per pound. The coal is still coal, tho. The US still has vast quantities of oil shale which might be easier to process into hydrocarbons.

One of Americas problems...sanctions will never be imposed on it and Americans will never appricate the vast natural wealth and resources it has

Having lived on the other side of sanctions first in Rhodesia then South Africa when various products we were dependent on were no longer available we found alternative solutions...granted the cost on somethings increased but it also spurred economic growth were there had been none....

No question in my mind that America could self support its energy needs for the next hundred years...but the enviro nazis will make sure this never happens and politicians will remain to weak to challenge them!

I'll second (or third) the opinion that price is the controlling factor. When I was a young man just out on my own, gasoline was about 25c a gallon in some places. Our cars weren't as fuel efficient as the cars today, but not as bad as some would have you believe. My 305 cubic inch V8 Mustang got about 25 miles to the gallon at 75 MPH, which isn't bad. Now going forward through hyper-inflation to today, we see gasoline around $1.00 per gallon in some places. Adjusting for inflation, it's cheaper now than 30 years ago. I heard a lecture from an MIT professor in the early 70's that claimed we'd be about out of oil by now and gasoline would be over $10 a gallon if you could find it! But it's nice to know that alternatives like ethanol (pure or additive) and oil from coal can serve as a saftey net if the price of oil should get very high, like over $50 a barrel.

That said, we definitely need a more rational nuclear power program in the country. We shouldn't be using hydrocarbons for generating bulk electricity, since they are much better used as easily transported and stored forms of energy for smaller requirements like vehicles and stand-by power generation. And there's some hope that perhaps in another 30 years, controlled fusion power plants will be practical.

I remember seeing an article in the late 70's about a plant that could be grown that either produced or could be processed in to a latex like substance from which petroleum products could be made.

If I remember correctly, the cost of refinement (1970 dollars) was around $35 per barrel. This was reported in Popular Science, I believe.

The article also mentioned the ideal climate for this plant was arid with a lot of sun.

Coal is being turned into natural gas in Beulah, N.D., the only large-scale synfuels plant in the United States. Lots of byproducts. Years and years of subsidies through fixed-price contracts for natural gas, and eventual financial collapse resulted. However, with natural gas prices elevated - last time I looked -- it apparently is doing ok.

yeah, but is it affordable?

i remember in the late seventies and early eighties they were gearing up for colorado oil shale near parachute colorado. hoards of people arrived. construction companies built hundreds of houses.

meanwhile, the left was gearing up for a propaganda war. a journalist friend of mine invited me to go along in an suv to look at the surface mining. the trip was arranged by a college professor who got the mining company to permit him to pass the corporate security. my hosts discussed their propaganda task.

then, poof! opec lowered the price of oil and everything disappeared. boom to bust.