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U.S. Says 400-Billion Barrel Bakken Oil Field a 'Myth'
CNSNews ^ | June 18, 2008 | Keriann Hopkins CNSNews.com Correspondent

Posted on 06/18/2008 10:10:46 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

(CNSNews.com) - Reports circulating on the Internet tell of an oil field spanning parts of western North Dakota and eastern Montana where 400 billion barrels of oil supposedly are just waiting to be tapped. However, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) tells Cybercast News Service that those huge estimates are "a myth."

A USGS report issued in April estimates that there are between 3 billion to 4.3 billion barrels of oil in what is referred to as "the Bakken Formation" -- well below the 400 billion barrels discussed on the Web, but up from the previous estimate of 151 million barrels made in 1995.

Richard Pollastro, Bakken Formation task leader at the USGS, said the myth stems from a 1999 draft report -- never published -- by a now-deceased USGS employee, Leigh Price. Price estimated that the Bakken Formation holds up to 400 billion barrels of oil. To put that in perspective, Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has about 260 billion barrels of known oil reserves.

Price, however, died in 2000, before his study could be peer-reviewed and published, and the Bakken Formation became the fool's gold of the oil industry.

"Unfortunately, in many instances, we are still trying to explain and defend our assessment versus the inappropriate and irresponsible posting of Dr. Price's 'draft report,'" Pollastro told Cybercast News Service.

According to Jonathon Kolak, a USGS scientist and information specialist, the discrepancy between Price's 1999 estimates and the agency's 2008 findings arises from the fact that Price was trying to assess the "oil generation potential" of the oil found in the pores of rocks and shale in the Bakken field, as well as the total content of how much oil might be pooling up - or "oil in place."

"What Dr. Price was looking at was 'oil generation potential,' and then, from that, trying to make an estimate of 'oil in place,'" said Kolak. "Those terms are very distinct from 'undiscovered technically recoverable resources.'"

The latest study, which was commissioned by U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), is an estimate of how much "technically recoverable" oil and gas is available -- i.e, how much oil can actually be recovered using today's technology.

Kolak also explained that the 25-fold increase between the 1995 estimates and the 2008 assessment is due to two factors: an improved understanding of the geology and advances in drilling technology.

"Our understanding of the geology improved significantly because of the time difference between the studies," he said. "There has been some drilling since then, there has been a lot more information that has come out, other people have conducted studies, and also USGS researchers have conducted studies."

Moreover, drillers are utilizing directional drilling in the Bakken fields, a way of drilling at an angle to tap previously unrecoverable reservoirs.

"If you've been out to western North Dakota, you don't need a USGS report to know that there's oil there because you can see from all the drilling activity that there's a lot of energy development going on in western North Dakota," Dorgan spokesman Justin Kitch told Cybercast News Service .

Kitch admits that comparing Price's 1999 study to the April USGS study is like comparing "apples and oranges."

"But certainly it's nice to have an up-to-date assessment of the amount of oil that's technically recoverable in the Bakken," he said.

In 2006, Marathon Oil bought 200,000 acres in the Bakken to drill over 300 wells. This past May, after the report was released, Texas-based XTO Energy bought 352,000 net acres in the Bakken Shale for $1.9 billion.

The federal government, meanwhile, said only a small proportion of the oil available with today's technology is economically viable for recovery.

"If you're drilling the Bakken, it's pretty easy to drill somewhere in there and at least see some oil, but the question is: Is there enough there to get out and actually be economically recoverable?" Kolak asked.

At the end of 2007, about 105 million barrels of oil had been produced from the Bakken Formation.

The USGS, meanwhile, considers any release or dissemination of Price's unpublished report to be "inappropriate and irresponsible."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bakken; energy; myth; oil; usgs
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1 posted on 06/18/2008 10:10:47 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

for later


2 posted on 06/18/2008 10:12:22 AM PDT by Mr. Pumblechook
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To: NormsRevenge; Grampa Dave; SierraWasp; BOBTHENAILER; Dog Gone; Marine_Uncle; Fred Nerks; ...

News ping!


3 posted on 06/18/2008 10:12:36 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (No Burkas for my Grandaughters!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
All President Bush really has to do is sign an Executive Order calling the CTFC to investigate the oil futures market and the manipulators will flee causing the oil bubble to explode!
4 posted on 06/18/2008 10:14:04 AM PDT by kcm.org (Soros declares crude oil prices are a bubble)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Who gives a rat’s ass if it is NOT 400? Drill here, drill anywhere there’s oil. Put a rig in my backyard if you think there’s a couple of hundred barrels down there.


5 posted on 06/18/2008 10:16:01 AM PDT by mgc1122
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To: kcm.org
All President Bush really has to do is sign an Executive Order calling the CTFC to investigate the oil futures market and the manipulators will flee causing the oil bubble to explode!

That's what I've read as well. Oil man president presiding over free for all of deregulated opaque speculation by the big banks and hedge funds. Don't see a lot of talk about it here on FR, though. Just the standard mantra about drilling.

6 posted on 06/18/2008 10:16:20 AM PDT by Huck ("Real" conservatives support OBAMA in 08 (that's how you know Im not a real conservative))
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
"Moreover, drillers are utilizing directional drilling in the Bakken fields, a way of drilling at an angle to tap previously unrecoverable reservoirs."

When this was known as "slant drilling" in the early years of oil exploration, this was how you drilled into deposits under your neighbor's land without paying royalties, and it led to more than one shooting...

7 posted on 06/18/2008 10:16:25 AM PDT by Redbob (WWJBD - "What Would Jack Bauer Do?")
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To: kcm.org
Hmmm, now why would the POTUS not want to protect the US interests? Why would the POTUS delay for 7 years, and not use his bully pulpit to take action on such a security threat to the US?

Hmmm. Think Global.

8 posted on 06/18/2008 10:18:16 AM PDT by gathersnomoss (General George Patton had it right.)
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To: Huck

Huck, you get it.


9 posted on 06/18/2008 10:19:59 AM PDT by gathersnomoss (General George Patton had it right.)
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To: Redbob

“I drank your milkshake!”


10 posted on 06/18/2008 10:21:01 AM PDT by gjones77
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
President Bush mentioned the Oil shale Field in Colorado , Utah and Wyoming this morning in his request to Congress to open up restricted areas off shore and in Alaska for Oil exploration.

FR Thread

Bush: Lift ban on offshore drilling (Pelosi, where's the lower gas prices you promised?)

11 posted on 06/18/2008 10:21:49 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (No Burkas for my Grandaughters!)
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To: Huck
That's what I've read as well. Oil man president presiding over free for all of deregulated opaque speculation by the big banks and hedge funds. Don't see a lot of talk about it here on FR, though. Just the standard mantra about drilling.

Yes you do see talk about it. Where have you been? I'm not convinced the bubble is completely speculation driven, but I do give some credence to the notion that the prime speculators are troubled financial institutions who need a place to park money to make profits to offset their losses from bad loans. The government is happy to let them do this as high gas prices are a small price to pay to keep these institutions afloat considering what would happen nationally and globally if a bunch of them keeled over.
12 posted on 06/18/2008 10:22:36 AM PDT by Antoninus (Every second spent bashing McCain is time that could be spent helping Conservatives downticket.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

I’m calling BS on the reasoning behind this article. Otherwise, why would these oil companies be spending millions in leases, millions in drilling, millions in related infrastructure, if their wasn’t much oil to be had?


13 posted on 06/18/2008 10:22:51 AM PDT by PrairieRoot (Here's hoping Global Warning extends the hunting and logging seasons.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

What is the bigger lie?? The democrat lie that Bakken held a mealy 4B barrels (which makes it economically worthless to pursue since by the time you spend billions getting the drills operating, you are empty within 5 years and barely made back your investment)????

Or the ‘lie’ that a field which actually hold AT LEAST 151BILLION barrels (more than 30 TIMES what the democrats said) or that it might hold as much as 400B?

Considering that without an actual oil company using modern technology to do a survey (which gets better once there is a drill into the field), we don’t likely know whether there is 151B or 400B or somewhere in between or even somewhere OVER those two estimates.

But the one thing we can be absolutely, positively, metaphysically certain about is that the DNC and all the liberal carbon-crusaders will lie about the subject. It’s the only thing you can always bank on.


14 posted on 06/18/2008 10:24:11 AM PDT by bpjam (Drill For Oil or Lose Your Job!! Vote Nov 2008)
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To: bpjam
My wife's family farn is 800 acres and the bidding is fierce. It's up to $350 per acre for the mineral rights and between 15 - 20% royalties!

Pelosi is Bakken up the wrong tree!

15 posted on 06/18/2008 10:29:24 AM PDT by Young Werther (Julius Caesar (Quae Cum Ita Sunt. Since these things are so.))
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To: PrairieRoot
Otherwise, why would these oil companies be spending millions in leases, millions in drilling, millions in related infrastructure, if their wasn’t much oil to be had?

I can't answer that, but my in-Laws have a farm in northcentral Pennsylvania where they leased the mineral rights to an natural gas driller for a number of years. There is no indication that the property will be, or will ever be, drilled. But the mere fact that the lease was purchased suggests that it is worth it to them to get it under contract.

16 posted on 06/18/2008 10:30:14 AM PDT by Tallguy (Tagline is offline till something better comes along...)
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To: PrairieRoot

There is a lot of oil to be had up there, just not 400 billion barrels. It’s a very tight formation from what I’ve read.


17 posted on 06/18/2008 10:32:12 AM PDT by colorado tanker (Number nine, number nine, number nine . . .)
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To: Antoninus
... but I do give some credence to the notion that the prime speculators are troubled financial institutions who need a place to park money to make profits to offset their losses from bad loans. The government is happy to let them do this as high gas prices are a small price to pay to keep these institutions afloat considering what would happen nationally and globally if a bunch of them keeled over.

Bingo! A winner!!! YES!

Although called a troll for saying so, high oil and gas prices are good for America. as is--man I hate to say this:

Ethanol--for the farmers...flame away I'm first in line///

18 posted on 06/18/2008 10:33:10 AM PDT by kcm.org (Soros declares crude oil prices are a bubble)
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To: Redbob

Yep. Heard the old “must hit some chert or dolomite and got off-line” excuse a lot (in the way-back days).


19 posted on 06/18/2008 10:36:46 AM PDT by Cletus.D.Yokel
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Since “timely” information released by congressional Democrats (Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.)is usually suspect, how can we believe this is not another load of BS for the public?
20 posted on 06/18/2008 10:37:27 AM PDT by ANGGAPO (LayteGulf BeachClub)
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