Largest oil supplier to US

[Woodrow]

I would like to offer a correction if I may Woodrow. The oil in the Athabasca tar sands is not pumped, it is mined. They mine it and extract the oil from the sand. Up until the last few years it was very expensive, but new technology in the last few years has made it profitable now.

Thank you Panatella, I was thinking the problem would be similar to Alaska's North Slope, where the jelling of the crude was the problem..


That is very interesting as it seems the same Technology could be used for extracting oil from oil shale. The estimated reserves locked up in oil shale in the US Rocky Mountains is huge. Back in the 1970s we were figuring it might be as much as 10 to 20 times more then the rest of the worlds supply, but we were unable to extract it.

 

[snakelegs]

this has been an informative thread for me!
what about central asian oil? i've read that there are huge reserves. of course they need access to the sea (afghanistan!)
as for venezuela, well they have been getting quite uppity of late and seem to think the oil belongs to them or something. and the u.s. is too busy to invade venezuela.

 

[snakelegs]

I hope that we find other means so we dont have to rely on terrorist saudis.

what is the status of the proposed pipeline from iran to india?
of course it doesn't look very promising, if it depends on going through pakistan. the baluchis will see to that.

 

[Woodrow]

I got interested in oil shale again. Just did a google and found this:

Unlocking The Future

The destruction of Hurricane Katrina shows the importance of a strategic petroleum reserve, or, more accurately, a
strategic energy reserve. But the SPR in Louisiana only holds about 800 million barrels of emergency, enough to get
the country through about 90 days of regular oil usage. That's barely a band-aid for a country that faces a potential
energy heart attack.

In other words, the future of oil shale may have finally arrived. Extracting oil from shale is no simple task, which
is why the reserves remain almost completely undeveloped. But an emerging new technology promises to unlock the
awesome potential of the oil shale.

"The technical groundwork may be in place for a fundamental shift in oil shale economics," the Rand Corporation
recently declared. "Advances in thermally conductive in-situ conversion may enable shale-derived oil to be
competitive with crude oil at prices below $40 per barrel. If this becomes the case, oil shale development may soon
occupy a very prominent position in the national energy agenda."

Estimated U.S. oil shale reserves total an astonishing 1.5 trillion barrels of oil - or more than five times the
stated reserves of Saudi Arabia. This energy bounty is simply too large to ignore any longer, assuming that the
reserves are economically viable. And yet, oil shale lies far from the radar screen of most investors.

But we here at The Daily Reckoning are on the case. Just yesterday, I caught a first-hand glimpse of a cutting-edge
oil shale project spearheaded by Shell. I trekked out to a barren moonscape in Colorado to tour the facility with
Shell geologists. To summarize my findings, oil shale holds tremendous promise, but the technologies that promise to
unlock this promise remain somewhat experimental. But sooner or later, the oil trapped in the shale of Colorado
will flow to the surface. And when it does, it will enrich investors who arrive early to the scene.

Can Oil Shale Change The World?

America's oil shale reserves are enormous, totaling at least 1.5 trillion barrels of oil. That's five times the
reserves of Saudi Arabia! And yet, no one is producing commercial quantities of oil from these vast deposits. All
that oil is still sitting right where God left it, buried under the vast landscapes of Colorado and Wyoming.

Obviously, there are some very real obstacles to oil production from shale. After all, if it was such a good
thing, we'd be doing it already, right? "Oil shale is the fuel of the future, and always will be," goes a popular
saying in Western Colorado.

My own personal thoughts on this is that it will not only reduce the cost of oil for much of the world, it would eliminate the incentive for a US presense in the mid east. Perhaps this can be a first step towards peace in that area.

 

[MRR]

LOL,

Wow, Yes Canada imports the most oil to USA,

But who has the Most Oil Reserves for the World Ahem coughs*Saudi Arabia* And Oil reserves are just as important as imported oil as canada does!~

Hey! Have you ever lived in Saudi Arabia? Cause if you haven't, I don't even want to hear from you until you go and live there for a few years. Then come back and talk to me about Saudi Arabia.

 

[cbu-97]

Posted on Wed, Jul. 12, 2006
Senate approves expanded drilling in Gulf of Mexico
By Mark K. Matthews

The Orlando Sentinel

(MCT)

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate leaders announced a compromise Wednesday that would expand oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico by millions of acres, but keep exploration at least 125 miles from Florida's western shoreline.

In the deal, Florida Sen. Mel Martinez appears to have gained a major concession by moving the buffer zone for drilling farther from his state's coastline than originally planned by Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici.

The agreement was announced by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., Domenici, R-N.M., Martinez and lawmakers from other coastal states. Frist said it tries to strike a balance by tapping oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico while also protecting Florida's multibillion-dollar tourism industry.

The deal will "protect our shoreline," Martinez said.

But others were not so sure. Environmentalists are against expanding any exploration in the Gulf. They also note that the Senate plan would allow offshore development in an area of the eastern Gulf known as Lease Sale 181, where government bans have kept drilling off limits.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said the deal seemed promising but was withholding support until he received assurances that it would not be watered down during negotiations with the House of Representatives.

The House's energy-exploration bill that passed last month is much more comprehensive than the Senate's, which focuses on drilling only in the Gulf of Mexico. The House bill sets a 50-mile drilling buffer throughout the entire U.S. coast, but would allow state Legislatures to expand that barrier to 100 miles.

After hearing Nelson's concerns, Frist could not guarantee there would be no concessions with the House along the way.

"This agreement will make America more energy-independent, reduce our reliance on foreign oil (and) strengthen our national security," said Frist, who expects a vote this month. Plus, he said, it "provides historic protection for the state of Florida."

Domenici predicted easy passage in the Senate.

Under the latest plan, the drilling protections for Florida's western coastline - as well as a military training area more than 230 miles west of Tampa - would expire in 2022.

Both the Senate and the more ambitious House plan have fractured a Florida delegation that long stood united against offshore drilling. But rising energy prices have put pressure on lawmakers to allow for more exploration.

This division was apparent Wednesday when Nelson arrived midway through the announcement to express his concerns. He and Martinez had both voiced serious problems with the House bill. But on Wednesday Nelson seemed to part company with Martinez.

"The devil's in the details," said the Florida Democrat.

Florida's two senators had been pushing a plan that would create a 150-mile buffer around the state and limit drilling in the Gulf of Mexico to 744,000 acres. But that idea received little support.

The proposal announced Wednesday builds on a measure pushed by Domenici and passed his energy committee in March. The Senate plan opens up 8 million acres, including 1.6 million in resource-rich Lease Sale 181.

A spokeswoman for the senate energy committee said the newly opened area would produce an estimated 1.25 billion barrels of oil and 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Martinez, a Republican, hailed the compromise as a success.

"I am thrilled and delighted that we got 125 miles for the people and Florida. It's a huge victory," Martinez said. As for the protections expiring in 2022, Martinez said he was not worried.

"I am very hopeful with America's ingenuity and America's know-how, and our commitment to less dependence on foreign sources of energy, that we will become less dependent on fossil fuels," he said. "I am very hopeful by that year, this won't even be an issue."

Gov. Jeb Bush also offered his support, praising Martinez for negotiating the best deal he could for Florida. He also expressed hope that the Senate and House would continue working to protect Florida's beaches from offshore drilling.

The Senate agreement also paves the way for other Gulf Coast states to share in federal revenue produced by the rigs if they do decide to allow drilling.

Louisiana could receive hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade through revenue-sharing, according to Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana.

Environmentalists, who fought passage of the House bill, also said they were disappointed in Martinez and in the measure.

"It looks as if Sen. Martinez has decided to side with his leadership in the Senate and other pro-drilling senators rather than with the interests of Florida," said Mark Ferrulo, director of the Florida Public Interest Research Group.

Ferrulo is concerned that oil and natural gas rigs could lead to environmental accidents that could tar Florida's shore.

A spokesman for Rep. Clay Shaw, who heads the Florida delegation on the House side, said the Fort Lauderdale Republican did not support the plan.

---

© 2006, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).

Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.