Could this be true? Got this in an e-mail, what are we waiting for????? USGS Release: 3 to 4.3 Billion Barrels of Technically Recoverable Oil Assessed in North Dakota and Montana’s Bakken Formation—25 Times More Than 1995 Estimate— (4/10/2008 2:25:36 PM)

 

Technically recoverable oil doesn't exactly mean what everyone wants to hear. That doesn't mean that it's oil reserves that can be recovered at $16 dollars a barrel. Let's say you have one oil field, with a reserve of 1 billion barrels of oil a year, that doesn't mean that the entire field is only able to produce a billion barrels of oil a year, but at current price with current technology, they are able to produce a billion barrels of oil a year from that field.

Just basing this from the title of that article, it sounds like they are saying that the entire field is able to produce 3 to 4.3 billion a year, but that doesn't mean that the reserves are 3 to 4.3 billion. It's that phrase "technically recoverable" that has me thrown a little.

 

the bakken formation comes up into southern saskatchewan were wave energy has been using new techniques to increase production (multi stage fraccing) what what i have heard wave has a lot of land in montana and north dakota this new way of production has tripled the drilling into the bakken formation and what used to be inaccesible oil has now become accessible for very cheap

 

oil at $16 a barrel would be horrible! Should not be below $80, can't wait for it to get back up to there!

 

Really? Why so? Just curious.

 

When oil is high, people around where I live make more money, and therefore spend more money! Last year my company did work for only geologists, it was really nice. I didn't mind paying $150 for a tank of fuel then either. I think around $80 is a sustainable price as well.

 

The Inflation Calculator 16 dollar a barrel oil inflation adjusted is about 3 dollar a barrel oil in 1970,Historical Crude Oil Prices Table adjusted for inflation oil hasn't been 16 bucks a barrel in the last 60 years.

 

Here is the bad thing, history has shown us that when prices get so high(and 80 dollars is pretty darn close to the threshold of prices) other alternatives become more appealing, when they become more appealing, changes are made and depending on how the company handles it that employs people in your area, those same people that like high oil prices might be out of a job because alternatives are used. Now this isn't an overnight switch, but a switch does occur and it will occur. Oil won't even be this low forever. There aren't any new reserves out there, I doubt the US will ever put another refinery online, unless we hit a double dip recession, oil will get back up there, I would say even past 80 dollars.

High oil prices are a blessing and a curse for people in your position and I wouldn't be hoping too much for much higher oil prices.

 

so are we all oil men on here or what? lol.

 

I couldn't disagree more!! But I understand your position since you are in the oil business. But since I don't get to write-off my fuel, I would much rather pay $60 for a fill up than $150 since that puts $90 in my pocket to go buy something worthwhile.

But TEX is right in that if they get too high, especially with the liberal leadership that we have in the U.S. trying to turn away from foreign oil, that most oil people will be out of a job because they'll be looking to alternative and renewable fuels. Our government now hates OIL and anything that runs on it!! But maybe China will stay interested.

Oh yeah, we'll never really see $16/barrel oil again!! That's an advertising ploy to draw attention.

 

that is what people dont understand oil effects everybody. not just oil field people. History proves it. Now im not a big history man myself, but I have talked with serveral people and the general consinsus is, in history economy revolves around the oil indistry. when its up the economy is up when it is down the economy is down. I beleave that to be true today. Yes I think that when it was over 100 it was too high, but I think 80 will be just fine for everybody.

 

To a degree, yes you are correct, however, the assumption there is that capacity can keep up with demand. To a certain point, it won't be able to and this is not taking into account reserves actually in the ground, how much oil we have etc, I'm not much of a peakist, so I'm not going to go there.

As to dollar amounts, to a degree we will adjust and alocate funds accordingly and move on, however, when it gets to high we move on to something else. Case in point, we used to use whale oil for heating and lighting. When that got to expensive, kerosene was then used, whale oil market bottomed out and there you go. It will happen with oil, when who knows, that depends on alot of factors both outside human control and inside human control. Higher prices accelerate that process though. 100 dollars for sure we will see more alternatives out there and more economies of scale to bring down the prices of those alternative fuels. It will happen, basic economics dictates that it will.

 

We need (collectively) to find sustainable, practical energy sources if this country is ever going to get out of the vicious cycle we are in. The very first thing that needs to happen is to stop funding (by buying their oil) all the countries that would willingly see us fall hard and fast.

The fact that good oil reserves have been found in the US is great - but it shouldn't be cheap. Demand needs to be curbed, sensible consumption needs to be the way going forward. How we should be making this country great again is by developing the technologies that can make us highly energy efficient - and then marketing that technology to the same countries I just mentioned. Now they are supporting us, their money is flowing into our economy. A much better scenario.

We are going to need oil for a long time to come, but my opinion is to use what we may have very wisely, keep the money in this country, and get moving on new technology.
Because make no mistake, if we don't, someone else will.

OK, I'll get off my soap box now ..........

 

I just want to make the point that the Bakken has 3 - 4.3 billion bbls. total recoverable, not that much p/year. It will take decades to produce even half of that with the current economically feasible production plans, which call for, at most, tri-lateral horizontals (mainly dual and single-laterals). Three 5.875" - 6.125" holes, going out +/- 10000' and covering two sections (square miles for you Easterners) are economical with $50-$60+ p/bbl; less than that, the return, and the risk that their may be catastrophic failure in the wellbore, causing the entire well to be lost, just doesn't justify the added cost of more horizontal wells. Unfortunately, a few small holes, however expensive to drill, will not quickly drain the reservoir, at least not fast enough to really affect the price at the pump, from this one source alone. What will affect prices at the pump, and help the economy at the same time, is to continue drilling for oil and gas here in the US, both on and offshore (that means you, NY, NJ, MA, etc. - oil doesn't stop at the Canadian border...), keeping incentives high enough and taxes low enough that we can continue to try to support our own needs until other types of energy sources can be found and the infrastructure built. It is a net effect - projects all over the US, large and small, together will help prices and stability. It has the added benefit of keeping our money here, in the US, where it belongs, and it sure does employ A LOT of people. I love talking to envronmentalists who honestly believe that we can just stop using fossil fuels, say on Monday around noon, 1 pm at the latest, just flick a switch, and we have somehow repowered America... What about the 30 million homes in the NE who still use oil heat? What do we use for transportation fuel? Big Duracell in the backseat? Not to rant (sorry...), but we can't repower America if we don't have the energy needed to do just that! As for the conspiracy theory that oil companies are against alternative energy; for one, many of them are already involved in alternative energy, and for another, and I can say this from experience, it is much easier to drill for oil & gas in other countries than it is here in the US - if we did somehow repower tmw, I guarantee the rest of the developing world is not able to do so, and oil & gas drilling will continue there. Lastly, 100% of all plastics are made from oil & gas. 100%. Consider how much plastic you have in your home, what you think good alternatives to plastic are (I can not think of any alternatives other than going back to glass), and then consider if there really is a conspiracy...

 

True, however, I'm willing to bet that it won't happen. Right or wrong there is a powerful lobby against it and I don't think the majority of people want to see tax breaks to companies that really had a very very good year. Political feasibility in today's climate isn't there for big multinational companies.



True, but it's how dedicated they are to it that's the real factor. Make no mistake about it, the companies are after a profit and it's going to be a long time before economies of scale are to make alternative fuels as profitable as their nat. gas and oil operations. It's how much they really are tied into it is the thing. They might be able to tout off that they are involved in alternative fuels, but if it's .2 percent of their total operations(I just pulled that number for effect, not a real number just to show a point), then so what if they are involved or not.

Depends on what other country your talking about. Any country that is real quick about flipping between nationalizing and unnationalizing energy production is going to be a lot harder to deal with then the US(unless comrade obama really gets going)


No, they have a synthetic chemical that they use for some plastics now. Pretty expensive stuff, but they do have an alternative. I can't remember the name, I heard though it's some pretty nasty stuff, they won't even allow it to be recycled into plastic lumber. Supposed to be more durable though, like plastic has a hard time being durable.