| Issue of the Day Posts Tagged ‘Oil Imports’ |
Oil Discoveries Amidst Renewable Push
Published Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 by Lacey Loftin
One of the major agenda items that President Obama wants to implement is the reduction of oil imports from the Middle East and Venezuela. Recently, Chevron has reported that a geological area known as the lower tertiary trend in the Gulf of Mexico, about 175 miles off the Louisiana coast, may produce between 3-15 billion barrels of oil for the US. At the top end of that range, it would account for a 50% boost US oil reserves and potentially US oil production. Other findings suggest that the Ocean Continental Shelf may contain as much as 86 billion barrels; the Balkken Formation of Montana and North Dakota may hold 3.65 billion; and Colorado may have 2 trillion barrels of oil shale (rock). If the US recovers over 800 billion barrels, that’s triple Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves, yet sources will not be available for 5, 10, to 15 years.
The US uses 70% of its oil for transportation (e.g., cars, trains, planes), and 1.5% goes to electricity generation, of which produces two thirds of all US electricity. The US has been using Natural Gas to generate electricity since before WWII, which has tripled in the last 20 years. Renewable or ‘Green Energy’ provides only 7% of all electricity generated nationally, at levels generally flat since the early 1980s and less than the late 1990s.