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Technology is opening way to huge pools of oil, but will we take advantage of it?
by None
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Editor's Note: This is the latest in a series of articles by Dr. Watts on the energy crisis and how to respond.
By Dr. David Watts
President, UTPB
These days filling your car with gas is a little easier. If you're a producer, you may be a little nervous given that oil has dropped to $113 a barrel. There's still a lot of distance to $8 or $20 a barrel.
The world economy appears to be demanding a little less oil. With economic slowdowns in Europe and parts of Asia and the reduced demand for gasoline in the U.S., the energy crisis appears to be lessening a bit.
But demand will exceed supply again. While new fields are being discovered, and while offshore drilling could increase the availability of domestic oil, the rate of decline in production is faster than the rate of replacement. The U.S. needs additional oil and gas resources; fortunately, it has them.
During the last energy crisis in the 70's, the federal government funded a number of programs designed to make the U.S. more energy independent. One of those projects involved the mining of oil shale from northwestern Colorado and converting it into oil. While the project was dropped by President Reagan in 1981 because of cost, oil shale deposits in the United States are estimated to contain 800 billion barrels. Now that's a lot of oil, 10 times more than offshore reserves.
The problems of production are enormous. In the 70's, oil shale was strip-mined, a destructive and ugly process at best. However, both Shell and Chevron have developed technologies that would produce oil from oil shale in the ground. Both techniques involve heating large areas underground over time. Estimated to require up to 4 gigawatts of power, nothing has happened. A large number of new power plants would have to be built, and the most likely fuel source for those plants would have to be coal.
UT Permian Basin may have a solution. Working on the concept of a high temperature, gas cooled nuclear reactor for the past two, UTPB has advocated the construction of a passively safe, high temperature reactor that would provide large amounts of surplus heat. That heat, in turn, could be delivered underground to treat oil shale for delivery as oil. Sound like science fiction or just good science? High temperature, gas-cooled reactors can be built; they are safe; and they produce heat up to 900 degrees centigrade.
There are many other technological innovations being produced by the United States' universities, in partnership with business. Yes, the world may continue to face an energy crisis, but in the United States, we have the potential to create and apply new technologies that can create new sources of energy. The question, is do we have the will to make it happen?
By Dr. David Watts
President, UTPB
These days filling your car with gas is a little easier. If you're a producer, you may be a little nervous given that oil has dropped to $113 a barrel. There's still a lot of distance to $8 or $20 a barrel.
The world economy appears to be demanding a little less oil. With economic slowdowns in Europe and parts of Asia and the reduced demand for gasoline in the U.S., the energy crisis appears to be lessening a bit.
But demand will exceed supply again. While new fields are being discovered, and while offshore drilling could increase the availability of domestic oil, the rate of decline in production is faster than the rate of replacement. The U.S. needs additional oil and gas resources; fortunately, it has them.
During the last energy crisis in the 70's, the federal government funded a number of programs designed to make the U.S. more energy independent. One of those projects involved the mining of oil shale from northwestern Colorado and converting it into oil. While the project was dropped by President Reagan in 1981 because of cost, oil shale deposits in the United States are estimated to contain 800 billion barrels. Now that's a lot of oil, 10 times more than offshore reserves.
The problems of production are enormous. In the 70's, oil shale was strip-mined, a destructive and ugly process at best. However, both Shell and Chevron have developed technologies that would produce oil from oil shale in the ground. Both techniques involve heating large areas underground over time. Estimated to require up to 4 gigawatts of power, nothing has happened. A large number of new power plants would have to be built, and the most likely fuel source for those plants would have to be coal.
UT Permian Basin may have a solution. Working on the concept of a high temperature, gas cooled nuclear reactor for the past two, UTPB has advocated the construction of a passively safe, high temperature reactor that would provide large amounts of surplus heat. That heat, in turn, could be delivered underground to treat oil shale for delivery as oil. Sound like science fiction or just good science? High temperature, gas-cooled reactors can be built; they are safe; and they produce heat up to 900 degrees centigrade.
There are many other technological innovations being produced by the United States' universities, in partnership with business. Yes, the world may continue to face an energy crisis, but in the United States, we have the potential to create and apply new technologies that can create new sources of energy. The question, is do we have the will to make it happen?
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