Montana’s Bakken Oil Field: Good News for US Consumers, Bad News for MSM
HUGE Oil Field in Montana is Good News for Consumers
–Which Makes it Unpalatable for the Mainstream Media
While Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s chief executive, fears for the future of oil supplies after 2015–maybe he’s confusing Shell’s oil supply with the rest of the world’s–Newsmax has just released information on the HUGE oil discovery in Montana: the Williston Basin or “Bakken” field.
About 470 miles outside the state capitol of Helena – in a place called Richland County, Montana – more millionaires are being created per capita than anywhere else in America.
It’s the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable… at $107 a barrel, Montana is looking at a resource base worth more than $5.3 trillion.
* “When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their jaws hit the floor. They had no idea.” says Terry Johnson, the Montana Legislature’s financial analyst.
* “This sizeable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56 years,” reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
It’s a formation known as the Williston Basin, but is more commonly referred to as the “Bakken.” And it stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada.
For years, U.S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the “Big Oil” companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken’s massive reserves… and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels.
And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!
That’s enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 41 years straight.
As one can see from the map below, before the ‘Bakken’ discovery, the U.S. was still a major oil producer–it is just a major consumer, also.
[CLARIFICATION: Some have questioned the NewsMax figures; others said they were "generous". Also, while the Bakken field is not new, the exploitation of it, due to the present price of oil, now appears possible. No clarification is needed for any possible MSM coverage of good US economic news, however.]
The relative MSM coverage of the ‘Bakken’ find is another example of the topsy-turvy media reporting to which the USA–and most of the rest of the world–has grown accustomed.
Politicians, most of who have seldom been involved in anything economically-productive, are looked to as providing answers to complex questions. As Thomas Sowell has said:
Let’s face it. Supply and demand will never replace “need” and “greed” in political discussions of economic issues.
Talking about the “need” for more affordable housing or more affordable medical care is what will get politicians more votes this election year.
Voters don’t want to hear about impersonal things like supply and demand. They want to hear about how their political heroes will stop the villains from “gouging” them or “exploiting” them with high prices.
Moral melodrama is where it’s at, politically.
Moral melodrama, indeed.
Politicians in general–and Democrats, in particular–find little that is “sexy” in talking about supply and demand. How much easier to switch the subject: to “Big Oil Villains”.
It has always been thus: politicians TALK about hard questions, hard problems and hard solutions, while their ACTIONS scream “easy“. We’ve come to expect this: their desk plaques might read “Senator” and “Congressman” when you see them on C-SPAN, but for most, a simple “Politician” label would be more accurate.
Careful followers of the economic debates that occupy today’s politicians understand this and sigh. But it’s seemingly above the heads of most MSM reporters, Bill O’Reilly and Democrat Congressional members.
The ‘Bakken’ field is economic good news for the U.S.A. and for American consumers.
That’s reason enough to provoke little excitement among the Mainstream Media and campaigning politicians.
by Mondoreb
Sources:
* Shell chief fears oil shortage in seven years
* Too “Complex”?: Part II
* Profit from the Peak
ALSO at DBKP at Blogger
According to the 2008 USG survey the amount of oil that can be extracted with current technology is only 3 to 4.3 Billion Barrels. The 500+ Billion Barrel figure is not a practical yield in the near future:
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911
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From
“The USGS estimate of 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil has a mean value of 3.65 billion barrels. Scientists conducted detailed studies in stratigraphy and structural geology and the modeling of petroleum geochemistry. They also combined their findings with historical exploration and production analyses to determine the undiscovered, technically recoverable oil estimates.”
500 Billion barrels may be in there but only 3-4.3 can be recovered with todays technology.
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My previous comment quotes a USGS Geological survey done in 2008 and available here: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911
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From The USGS page here
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The prior quote was taken for the US Geological Survey website located here
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Howdy.
does anyone know the names of ANY??
of the oil drilling compaines working there NOW??
my reason for asking i am looking fr an investmemt.
thanks.
Jim.
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BK Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 17:10
Marathon was mentioned as a producer in the Bakken Field. Hope this helps
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michael Reply:
May 8th, 2009 at 21:43
Continental Resources (CLR) has been exploring and drilling in the area for a couple years.
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Baaken is such a big deal, so surely the thing that will facilitate the impossible dream of American “energy independence”, such a humongous amount of oil just waiting to be sucked out of the ground that Big Oil couldn’t give a shit less about it:
“”They are looking for elephants,” says Schweitzer, meaning – I presume because there are no pachyderms in Montana – that big oil producers like Exxon Mobil don’t want to dabble in areas where there’s only 40 billion potential barrels and where the petroleum is more difficult to extract.”
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06192008/business/big_oil_companies_give_montana_the_brush_116166.htm?page=0
So it’s about as exciting as old people having sex.
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HDHH,
Baaken is such a big deal, so surely the thing that will facilitate the impossible dream of American “energy independenceâ€,
Energy independence is easy. Just get rid of cars, planes and economic activity: Antarctica is energy independent.
The dream is no more impossible than the dreams of flight or instant worldwide communication.
…and old people involved are excited about the sex–although others may not be. But then, that could be said about almost any two people, regardless of age.
Thanks for taking the time to stop and leave a comment.
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Brad Reply:
September 14th, 2009 at 21:54
Dear Sir,
Your comments are totally spot on — except for the sex part. There are 2 girls that I would love to be involved wit their sexapades. Other than that you hit the nail on the head!
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Yes, the USGS said only 4 billion or so barrels are extractable. So, at our current consumption, considering other depleting fields, we have maybe 10 years to go before it’s all gone, but that will buy us enough time to put the green solutions in place!
Let’s look at the horizon, not the bottom line.
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maine h Reply:
May 10th, 2011 at 18:21
Let them drill so we can get away from depending on other countrys. Are prices will drop on everything an people will get back to work. We have to get these EPA- people too let up a little an stop winening all the time.
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this is so good for montana. i wish we would start offshore drilling.
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what about the ft.peck indian reservation in montana. soon to be a big oil boom if they can get it together. west williston basin.
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I see another glorious Indian war coming, those pesky brown people! They always seem to have the things we want, no matter what god forsaken place they live.
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