I heard on NPR about the increased production, advancements in technology, etc of shale oil in Canada and the US and how some of the experts are saying it is a direct challenge to OPEC nations.
Then I saw this across the wire of a Saudi Prince confirming this...
Alwaleed warns of US shale danger to Saudi - FT.com
Since many of you are pretty sharp on all this I wanted to get your opinions.
Absolutely. Just as Pennsylvania was the the source of most of our oil in the early days. There the oil is so easily accessible it bubbled to the surface in pools. At the time, Texas oil was "inaccessible." Well, techniques advance, and by WWII, we had the techniques to tap Texas' reserves, which were vastly greater than Pennsylvania's.
Similarly, the oil domes in the Middle East are fairly shallow and feature great big pools of crude. Easier to get to and extract than shale oil. But the techniques for extracting from shale, once clumsy and prohibitively expensive, have benefited from higher oil prices, economies of scale, and refinement of technique. By the latest estimates, North America may have more total petroleum than the rest of the world combined. More than enough to be self-sufficient at any rate. And with costs falling and prices high, we can get at more and more of it.
On the other hand, it would be mean but funny to drain every last drop of Middle Eastern oil, then wave a fond farewell and let them carry on being tribes of squabbling desert throwbacks. But for the oil, who gives a damn about the Middle East?
