Can Senator Merkley’s Energy Intervention get us off Oil?

Doubling the milage of cars via light weight materials, electric drive, alternative fuels, natural gas powered, etc. will negate oil importing once the fleet is turned over. However, in terms of just getting off foreign oil, there is looming potential technologies that may increase domestic oil production to the level of self sufficiency. While as the article say, domestic “technically recoverable” oil reserves are insufficient, there currently in the US vast and huge “technically non-recoverable” reserves of several trillion barrels. While the North Dakota/Montana Bakken field contains an estimated four billion barrels of recoverable reserves, it is estimated there are 200 billion barrel of “none recoverable” oil there. The Green River Utah oil shale contains an estimated 1 to 2 trillion barrels of as yet none recoverable oil. New technologies may make much of these none recoverable domestic oil into recoverable oil reserves. For example, not long ago, it was though that the US was running out of natural gas, and plans were made to build liquid natural gas port terminals to import liquid natural gas from the Middle East, but with the development of shale frac technologies, the US natural gas production became totally self sufficient to the extend that the price of natural gas felt drastically. Now this shale frac technology is being applied at the Eagle Ford shale formation in South East Texas.  Using this technology, what was once none recoverable oil has the potential of supplying an estimated five billion barrels from the Eagle Ford Shale formation, which is about half the size of the North Slope Alaskan field.

Since this oil shale frac extraction technology is still in the early stages, it is currently not known whether it will be as effective in extracting “none recoverable” oil as it has been extremely effective in extracting “none recoverable” gas. But, if it goes on to be shown as effective extracting shale oil as it has proved in extracting shale gas, these new technologies can easily make the US self sufficient. The US has huge “none recoverable” oil reserves, that can last hundreds of years, if technologies can be developed to extract these reserves economically. Although these oil reserves may become extractable, these oil will still contribute to pollution and global warming, specially with the continued spread of gasoline guzzling cars to the four corners of the Earth. Even if domestic oil production can be increased many folds, there is still a need for green cars. The US serves as a model for other countries in developing modern life styles. If the US continues to drive gasoline guzzlers because it finds new ways to extract the many hundreds of billion to trillions of domestic presently none recoverable oil reserves, other countries will copy the US habit of driving gasoline guzzling cars. There are 20 times more people in the world than the US. There potentially can be 20 times more gasoline guzzling cars in the world, if the US does not develop and show the way to green cars. The Earth most probably cannot handle 20 times more gasoline guzzling cars.

Really excellent. Congratulations on a great job. Loved the interview.

I’m sure you know about this, but just in case. Brazilians are already driving around with garbage fuel etc. Friends of mine, frequent visitors to the country, have told me about it.

http://www.tierramerica.net/2002/0127/iacentos.shtml

And check this out on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Brazil

The bio-fuel section of the article is very relevant.

Sooo, the question remains. Why are we just talking and talking while other countries are doing? Imagine collecting used cooking oil from fast food places
all over the country and converting it into biofuel. We deserve a break today!