To those that have been reading and listening to this blog, I would like to personally thank you. I hope you received a large amount of information regarding shale oil and gas and issues involved. This blog is now going into retirement and will not be active any more.
I would like to point you in the right direction if you are looking for future information on the petroleum industry and shale oil information:
1. http://www.tight-oil-shale-plays.com/
2. http://www.carboncapturereport.org/
3. http://www.oilshalefacts.org/
With a closing of the blog..."We usually find gas in new places with old ideas. Sometimes, also, we find gas in an old place with a new idea, but we seldom find much gas in an old place with an old idea. Several times in the past we have thought that we were running out of gas, whereas actually we were only running out of ideas." - Adapted from Parke A Dickey by American Potential Gas Committee
Cheers,
Dr. Chrysoberyl
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Back to the Basics
The world energy demand is increasing every day and fossil fuels are a large portion of the resource to supply the demand. Fossil fuels will be used to support the energy demand for multiple years, yet alternative energy will continue to rise and help support the energy demand. Below is a figure that shows a forecast model for energy demand and what will help support that demand.
As you look at the graph, you will notice that we are not at a peak demand in fossil fuels yet. So how are we going to obtain a large enough supply for this large demand? Geologist in the petroleum industry have already started on this problem. Just like there is multiple different forms of energy; there are multiple different systems that hold fossil fuels. The question for the development of all these different types of petroleum systems is political and environmental issues. It is true, "the easy oil is or has been produced." To supply the world with future fossil fuels, it is going to take into account good geology, good petroleum engineering, and good environmental controls. The figure below shows the multiple different types of petroleum systems (conventional: structural and stratigraphic & unconventional: coalbed methane, shale gas, tight sand/carbonate, shallow basin methane, oil shale, tar sands, and hydrates) out there, and the positive aspect of this is that the United States has most of these present in the land which we live.
What Was Said...
A recent AAPG Explorer article, What Did They Say About Climate Change?, talks about a member, Hannes Leetaru, who has setup a great website for all up to date news on energy and climate issues. In the AAPG article, he discuss how scientist have done a poor job of communicating to the public in the past. He makes good points such as, "we live in the public spotlight, unlike most other fields, and we need to heed this and do a much better job." So with that being said, he has created an amazing website that can lead you to all the updated news about climate and energy.
As I scanned the website for most recent updates on oil news in the country, I came across a debate about President Obama's speech about high oil prices. Are you tired of paying extremely high oil prices at the pump? (The video is long but just watching the first few minutes will give you a good idea.)
In the video, it is not clear what President Obama wants to do to help increase the supply of oil to this country. The Fox Reports also are very confused on the prospective of the President's views on drilling. I feel that the President has not made a clear decision on whether or not to allow a vast majority of permits for offshore drilling and oil shale drilling. Prices in the United States are at a high again and there needs to be an increase in domestic drilling to support the decrease in foreign supply. The United States has many resources available. One of the greatest things about the Gulf of Mexico is that it produces oil at a very high rate and is a large contributor to our domestic supply of oil. Therefore, the politics need to understand how the high prices are affecting the average American and need to release permits to drill in areas of high success.
As I scanned the website for most recent updates on oil news in the country, I came across a debate about President Obama's speech about high oil prices. Are you tired of paying extremely high oil prices at the pump? (The video is long but just watching the first few minutes will give you a good idea.)
In the video, it is not clear what President Obama wants to do to help increase the supply of oil to this country. The Fox Reports also are very confused on the prospective of the President's views on drilling. I feel that the President has not made a clear decision on whether or not to allow a vast majority of permits for offshore drilling and oil shale drilling. Prices in the United States are at a high again and there needs to be an increase in domestic drilling to support the decrease in foreign supply. The United States has many resources available. One of the greatest things about the Gulf of Mexico is that it produces oil at a very high rate and is a large contributor to our domestic supply of oil. Therefore, the politics need to understand how the high prices are affecting the average American and need to release permits to drill in areas of high success.
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