Shale Oil Estimates Grow; Likelihood of Extraction, Not So Much

While the Obama administration seeks to encourage cleaner energy sources, government geologists have significantly raised their estimates of how much oil is trapped in the shale rocks of Colorado’s Piceance Basin. Back in 1989, government geologists had assessed the reserves at about one trillion barrels. But in a technical announcement Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey estimated that oil shale resources were 50 percent greater — or some 1.525 trillion barrels. That may seem like a lot (it’s nearly six times the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia), but the reality is a bit more complicated. As the government notes, the development of the shale rocks “has significant technological and environmental challenges.” Among them: there exists no economical method for extracting oil from these rocks in the United States today...NY Times