Posted on 03/01/2014 7:25:36 AM PST by Wonder Warthog
GILLSBURG, Miss. (AP) — Residents living above an oil-rich shale formation that stretches across southwest Mississippi and Louisiana have been waiting on a boom for years. A steady trickle of drilling is already boosting the rural region's economy, and spending by two oil companies could make 2014 the year that many other locals finally cash in on the oil far beneath their feet.
Already, Max Lawson has spent hours watching the round-the-clock work of shoving pipe into the ground in his back pasture. The process began two years ago when Encana Corp. built a big gravel pad, but didn't take off until late last year when a convoy of 200 trucks carted in a drilling rig and other equipment to bore into the earth looking for oil.
"They call it the Gillsburg Christmas tree," he said while standing near the brightly lit rig. "It looks like a little city over here at night."
Gillsburg and surrounding Amite County lie above a prime section of the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, a geologic formation that stretches in boomerang shape across Louisiana's midsection and into southern Mississippi. Drillers have known about the formation north of the Gulf of Mexico for years, but affordable technology to remove the oil from the shale's tight pores was slow to develop.
"It's at a stage where you need more wells that have consistent results, that show the repeatable results there are in other plays," Turnham said.
Louisiana State University scientists estimate the formation holds 7 billion barrels of oil, though that total isn't proven yet. Most of it is a light, sweet crude that can be sold to refiners for more than $100 a barrel. By comparison, the federal government estimates that the U.S. has about 40 billion barrels of proved oil reserves
(Excerpt) Read more at reporternews.com ...
ping list?
Sorry about the article showing up twice. “Admin Mod” said I had to excerpt to 300 words.
Someone is lying...the Green River Formation weighs in at 3 Trillion barrels...with 1 Trillion recoverable with today's technology.
Is Amite County where Jerry Clower used to live? Guess the folks over there won’t be dirt poor anymore.
It is strange that the “anecdotal numbers” for our oil reserves have seemed to change very little despite the bonanza of shale oil. I think this corresponds to the brainwashing that has been so effective that many educated people believe climate change is settled science.
It becomes gospel and nothing really changes their base determination even when reality contradicts it. There are millions of people who believe the globe is warming even as we are having a record breaking winter. People are still scared about concepts such “peak oil”, “peak food”, “peak water”, and “overpopulation” when history shows that humanity will adapt and such ideas are often ridiculous.
I just use keywords over a ping list.
I suspect a lot of politicians (and bureaucrats) are lying. They all want to stay in charge of the "spending tax dollars overhead" that pays their salaries and finances their perks.
Yup. And it ain't just in Mississippi. That swath of country, both in MS and LA has lots of dirt poor folks.
Liberals control talking points and they get stuck on numbers that support their issues. Another good one is the claim of 11 million illegals in this country- they have been using that number for so long and are sticking with it when double that is likely a low estimate.
Obama’s numbers for sign ups for Obama care that have been proven wrong and have earned him several newspaper Pinocchio awards is another talking point number that they won’t back off of either.
We need to stand up to them and call them out on their lies. It is not “political rhetoric” or “spin” just flat out lies told and retold and used by supporters and reporters to the point that folks that are not well informed believe them to be true.
On the brighter side of that, given proper leadership and TEApublican Congress, think of it as a "cash crop". At $500 bucks a head there's big money to be made by a lot of people for simply "rounding them up".
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.