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I'm all for the greening of the planet,absolutely, without a doubt!...but I DO wonder why most of us have never heard of this! Why is this never discussed?
The U.S. Govt's Secret Colorado Oil Discovery
THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION
Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world — more than 2 TRILLION barrels.
When the oil is extracted, “America would become the world’s single biggest oil source, far exceeding Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves of 261 billion barrels,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. Energy Department announces the results of a land survey...
It was conducted to determine the official amount of oil a thousand feet deep in the Rocky Mountains...
They reported this stunning news:
We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here are the official estimates:
• 8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia • 18-times as much oil as Iraq • 21-times as much oil as Kuwait • 22-times as much oil as Iran • 500-times as much oil as Yemen
...And it's all right here in the Western United States.
James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says, "We've got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East."
More than 2 TRILLION barrels. Untapped.
"That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil in the world today," reports The Denver Post.
When asked about America's least-publicized oil supply, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch said:
"The amounts of oil are staggering. Who would have guessed that in just Colorado and Utah, there is more recoverable oil than in the Middle East?"
Here's the kicker...
The U.S. government already owns the land. It's been right there under our noses the whole time.
In fact, the government's appointed a small group of companies to lead the way to the oil.
Test drilling has already begun.
Today, this resource sits idle — untapped — inside more than 16,000 square miles of rock and sand.
Geologists call what lies in this region, oil shale.
What is oil shale?
At first glance, oil shale looks like an ordinary black rock.
It feels grainy to the touch and... greasy. You see, what's inside oil shale has huge governments, Big Oil, venture capitalists, and even everyday investors scrambling to stake a claim.
Oil shale — when heated — oozes bubbling crude.
This precious resource is rare — found only in a few select countries. Places like China, Brazil, Estonia, Morocco, and Australia.
But the real story is how much untapped oil shale lies beneath U.S. soil. As the chart to the right indicates, there's 4-times more oil shale in the U.S. than in all other countries combined.
Over the past 125 years, oil shale has been the secret oil source for a handful of nations. Specifically, those fortunate enough to have it...
• China's been using oil shale since 1929. Today, China is the largest producer of oil from oil shale. It plans to double the daily rate of production soon. • Estonia is an oil shale dependent economy. Over 90% of the country's electricity is fueled by shale oil. In fact, electricity run on oil shale is a chief export. • In 1991, Brazil built the world's largest oil shale facility. They've already produced more than 1.5 MILLION tons of oil to make high quality transportation fuels. • Jordan, Morocco, and Australia have recently announced plans to utilize their oil shale resources. All 3 governments are currently working to build oil shale facilities. But all these countries' oil shale resources pale in comparison to the U.S. supply. As you can see from the table to the right, the United States dominates the oil shale market — with over 72% of the world's oil shale resources.
Our gargantuan supply of oil lies beneath an area called the Green River Formation — a barren stretch of land covering portions of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
World-renowned geologist Walter Youngquist calls the oil beneath the Green River Formation, "a national treasure."
Congress calls this area simply, "the next Saudi Arabia."
It's easy to see why...
This region holds the largest known oil reserve on the planet...
Colorado's Oil Lands — Restricted for 76 Years, Now Open for Drilling
There are over 16,000 square miles of oil shale in the Green River formation...
The most abundant areas hold up to 2 million barrels of oil per acre — it's the most concentrated energy source on earth, according to the Energy Department.
The federal government owns 80% of this oil-rich land.
In fact, the government placed protective legislation on this land in 1930, forbidding anyone to touch it.
You see, the government always knew this land was saturated with oil — but getting it out has always been expensive.
Buying oil from foreign countries was always the cheaper bet. It has been for the past 80 years.
Wisely, the government kept the land around for a "rainy day," protecting it with 1930s legislation.
I'm sure you're aware of today's situation at the gas pump. Buying oil from foreign countries has gotten out of hand. The price of oil is sky-high. It's way too expensive to keep buying foreign oil.
In other words, the "rainy day" has finally arrived.
The timing couldn't be more perfect. Oil shale technologies have begun to advance – drastically.
Companies are coming up with ways to extract oil from the Green River Formation very cheaply.
For example, one Utah-based company says it can extract the oil for as little as $10 a barrel. In fact, dozens of companies have stepped forward with similar claims. With oil prices starting to skyrocket again – these are pretty significant breakthroughs.
That's all the government needed to hear. On August 8, 2005, President Bush signed into law a new energy mandate.
This mandate is called The Energy Policy Act of 2005. It calls for the opening phases of oil extraction in the Green River Formation – the world's most concentrated energy source.
We're finally ready to tap the largest oil reserve on the planet...
"The United States Could become ‘The New Middle East'"
- U.S. Energy Department Survey
There's so much oil in this region the Energy Dept. thinks we could become the world's leading oil producer.
This reserve is so big it's projected to last for 500 years, according to some estimates. You could even add together all the oil in the Middle East—and our reserves would still come out on top — 3-TIMES LARGER.
That's a lot of oil. Of the 2 trillion barrels of proven oil in the Green River Formation — between 800 billion and 1.2 trillion barrels are recoverable.
This historic legislation officially opens up the Green River Formation to a handful of drilling companies.
Already, the government has awarded three companies 160 acres of land apiece, to test their oil shale drilling methods for commercial production.
According to the Bureau of Land Management (the department responsible for allocating the land):
"The initial term of the leases is 10 years with the option of extending the leases up to five years with proof of diligent pursuit of commercial production levels. The leases also contain a preferential right to convert the acreage plus adjacent acreage up to 4,960 acres to a 20-year commercial lease once commercial production levels have been achieved and all requirements have been met."
In other words, any company showing they can get the oil out cheaply and safely, could get a 20-year commercial lease on the 2 trillion barrel oil field.
From the three companies chosen, I think only one company's drilling technology will meet the government's strict shale development standards – and go on to develop oil shale on a commercial level.
This company would be responsible for launching America's first commercial oil shale operation and production "...Leading the way to more than two trillion barrels of oil shale deposits in the Green River Formation," writes the U.S. Federal News Service.
-Daily Wealth Steve Sjuggerud
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