90 Billion Barrels of Oil and 1,670 Trillion Cubic Feet of Natural Gas

[Angel Heart]

USGS Release: 90 Billion Barrels of Oil and 1,670 Trillion Cubic Feet of Natural Gas Assessed in the Arctic (7/23/2008 1:00:00 PM)

90 Billion Barrels of Oil and 1,670 Trillion Cubic Feet of Natural Gas Assessed in the Arctic
Released: 7/23/2008 1:00:00 PM

Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communication
119 National Center
Reston, VA 20192

Jessica Robertson
Phone: 703-648-6624

Brenda Pierce
Phone: 703-648-6421

The area north of the Arctic Circle has an estimated 90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, 1,670 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of technically recoverable natural gas liquids in 25 geologically defined areas thought to have potential for petroleum.

The U.S. Geological Survey assessment released today is the first publicly available petroleum resource estimate of the entire area north of the Arctic Circle.

These resources account for about 22 percent of the undiscovered, technically recoverable resources in the world. The Arctic accounts for about 13 percent of the undiscovered oil, 30 percent of the undiscovered natural gas, and 20 percent of the undiscovered natural gas liquids in the world. About 84 percent of the estimated resources are expected to occur offshore.

"Before we can make decisions about our future use of oil and gas and related decisions about protecting endangered species, native communities and the health of our planet, we need to know what's out there," said USGS Director Mark Myers. "With this assessment, we're providing the same information to everyone in the world so that the global community can make those difficult decisions."


More...

 

[Angel Heart]

There's a lot of oil up there... Let's DRILL!

 

[Charles_Main]

Who owns it? Could this be the seeds of an arctic war. Gulp

If we can, I would say go get it! Add this to the 800 Billion to 1.6 trillion barrels of oil locked up in Oil shale In the US west, and we could indeed be off of foreign Oil.

http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/oilshale/index.cfm

 

[Angel Heart]

What do you think the placing of the Russian flag under the ice at the pole was about?

Melting Arctic ice heightens fears | Straight.com

There's even a conspiracy that the Russians are melting the cap to make it easier to drill.

 

[Charles_Main]

What do you think the placing of the Russian flag under the ice at the pole was about?

Melting Arctic ice heightens fears | Straight.com

There's even a conspiracy that the Russians are melting the cap to make it easier to drill.

Well we better get up there and take the thing down and put up our own

Or we could say fuck it, let Canada fight them for it, and go after the shale in our own country

 

[Angel Heart]

ITA They can't have it! It's ours.

 

[Charles_Main]

ITA They can't have it! It's ours.

Remind me to invest in parkas and cold weather military gear

 

[editec]

Remind me to invest in parkas and cold weather military gear

Charles?

Invest in parkas and cold weather military gear.

 

[Ravi]

There's even a conspiracy that the Russians are melting the cap to make it easier to drill.

lol, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard.

 

[dilloduck]

Well we better get up there and take the thing down and put up our own

Or we could say fuck it, let Canada fight them for it, and go after the shale in our own country

Who owns the shale in our own country?

 

[Charles_Main]

Who owns the shale in our own country?

The vast majority of it is under federally controlled lands, and all of it is INSIDE the united states, unlike the Arctic finds.

 

[Red Dawn]

There's a lot of oil up there... Let's DRILL!

Good luck selling your enthusiasm in the board rooms of ExxonMobil.

The area north of the Arctic Circle has an estimated 90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, 1,670 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of technically recoverable natural gas liquids in 25 geologically defined areas thought to have potential for petroleum.

In Industry lingo, the word "technically" recoverable doesn't mean the same thing as economically recoverable. Techincally recoverable means the amount of oil that could be recovered given an infinite amount of resources and money.


Its the same as saying that, technically, cow farts are an enormous untapped source of methane gas. But tapping that gas isn't currently feasible economically or technologically.

 

[Gunny]

The vast majority of it is under federally controlled lands, and all of it is INSIDE the united states, unlike the Arctic finds.

Shale is not cost effective. We have 10s of thousands of oil wells in this country that are capped with still a 3rd of their resourses untapped because the deeper into the well you go, the more sludge you get. It costs more to get and to refine. The oil companies closed them rather than take less profit.

I don't know how much that amounts to, but it, like the shale is there.

 

[Charles_Main]

Good luck selling your enthusiasm in the board rooms of ExxonMobil.



In Industry lingo, the word "technically" recoverable doesn't mean the same thing as economically recoverable. Techincally recoverable means the amount of oil that could be recovered given an infinite amount of resources and money.


Its the same as saying that, technically, cow farts are an enormous untapped source of methane gas. But tapping that gas isn't currently feasible economically or technologically.

If even half of it is actually recoverable, It is worth it. IMO anyways.

 

[Gunny]

If even half of it is actually recoverable, It is worth it. IMO anyways.

The shareholders might not agree with your assessment. That's what the REAL problem is here. A natural resource required to sustain our society owned by profiteering corporations.

 

[jreeves]

Shale is not cost effective. We have 10s of thousands of oil wells in this country that are capped with still a 3rd of their resourses untapped because the deeper into the well you go, the more sludge you get. It costs more to get and to refine. The oil companies closed them rather than take less profit.

I don't know how much that amounts to, but it, like the shale is there.

Actually Shell is clammering at the possibility of using oil shale but it is being blocked by one senator. There is over 800 billion barrels of oil by conservative estimates.

 

[Charles_Main]

The shareholders might not agree with your assessment. That's what the REAL problem is here. A natural resource required to sustain our society owned by profiteering corporations.

True dat!

 

[Charles_Main]

Actually Shell is clammering at the possibility of using oil shale but it is being blocked by one senator. There is over 800 billion barrels of oil by conservative estimates.

Or in other words enough to provide for all our needs for up to 100 years. Or we could provide for all our needs for 25 years and make some bucks selling it

 

[Bern80]

But tapping that gas isn't currently feasible economically or technologically.

My god you disgusting perver..........oh.......tap that GAS. Sorry.

And sorry I just could not help myself on that one.

 

[Charles_Main]

Not sure about the Stuff in he arctic, but the shale out west is technically doable. The question is of how much it will cost. The technology to do it is there. With the high costs of oil today I imagine it is becoming much more economically doable as well.

Of course seeing how the best way to get at it, is to mine it, then heat it up to change it to oil, I imagine the environmentalist will fight it tooth an nail.