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Oil Shale Development in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado

Okay -- I caught an article in the Salt Lake Tribune that kinda gave me a "what the heck" moment. Hey, I'm Mormon and I live in Utah. We say "what the heck." No comments from the peanut gallery please!

I've mentioned on this blog before how pleased I am with Chris Cannon's efforts on the development of the oil shale in our region. I've mentioned how the technology is now available and Shell Corporation has leased the technology and is now fighting with 47 agencies, with Chris Cannon on their side, to allow drilling in these oil dense areas (5 times the amount of oil in all of the Middle East.)

You remember reading that right?

You remember reading that over $460 BILLION heads to the Middle East EVERY SINGLE DAY, right? I believe mentioning that bringing that $460 billion home would bring an unbelievably GIGANTIC economic boost to the tri-state (Utah, Colorado and Wyoming) area, and the American economy

You've noticed our economy is struggling right?

Here's what the "brilliant" people over the Trib reported. We're in more of a freakin' uphill battle than I realized if we're having to educate the people here too!
Huntsman backs oil shale development
By Thomas Burr
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 05/16/2008 12:45:48 AM MDT

WASHINGTON - Congress should allow regulations to be finalized on developing oil shale in Utah and other states, or miss out on a potential boom of domestic energy production, according to advocates that include Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

With gas prices reaching the $4 a gallon level, supporters of extracting oil shale say Congress' ban on finishing rules is hampering development of the new fuel source.

"As the price of oil surpasses $120 per barrel and we become increasingly dependent on foreign oil, our national security is in jeopardy," Huntsman said in a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "We cannot afford to wait any longer to develop this critical energy resource.

The opportunity for environmentally sound energy development must be supported."

But in a Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, an amendment to push forward with regulations on oil shale regulations failed on a party-line vote, with Democrats killing the move.

Former Rep. Jim Hansen, a Utah Republican now lobbying for Alabama-based Oil Shale Exploration Co., complained before the committee that it seems there is an anti-oil-shale vendetta in Congress.

"Who's got it in for oil shale?" Hansen asked, noting there weren't such restrictions on ethanol. "Oil shale seems like it's the whipping boy in this instance."

Hansen also repeated the oft-used claim that Utah, Colorado and Wyoming are the "Saudi Arabia of oil shale" in that there are an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil there.

"As far as we're concerned, this isn't a science project," Hansen told the committee. "This is a provable technology."

There will be some disturbance of public lands, Hansen said, adding that, "I totally agree you should be environmentally friendly." But the area his company is looking to develop is made up of just "sagebrush."

Supporters say extracting oil shale - which involves heating the rock until it produces a liquid that can be processed into heating oil or jet fuel - is key to the nation lessening its dependence on foreign sources of energy. But critics say the technology is still unproven and could create an environmental disaster if developers move forward too quickly.

Congress passed a law barring the finalization of regulations for commercial oil shale development, a move Stephen Allred, assistant secretary of the Interior Department, says may discourage private investment in researching the oil shale extraction technology.

But Steve Smith of the Wilderness Society challenged that comment, saying that companies have long had access to the land where they believe oil shale is available and are still far away from producing "tangible results."

"No technology or company is, in any way, ready to develop oil shale at a commercial scale," Smith said, adding that those companies have yet to prove they can access the oil without using "immense amounts of energy" and generating "huge increases in greenhouses gases."

Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman said he was sympathetic to the concerns about trying to move ahead on domestic sources of energy, but that the nation should be careful about rushing ahead too fast.

"In this era of soaring prices and increasing dependence on foreign oil, our domestic oil shale resources can potentially play an important role," Bingaman said. "However, we must proceed with care as we craft a policy leading to its future development."

Sen. Orrin Hatch, who testified at the start of the hearing in favor of repealing the ban on setting the final regulations, said there is no room in Congress for an "anti-oil or anti-oil-shale attitude."

If local officials in Utah, Colorado or Wyoming want to slow down on development of oil shale, that's fine, Hatch said, but Congress should not hold those states back from exploring their vast amount of oil shale resources.

"It's not right for my state and it's not right for Americans who are sending their money to our competitors overseas," Hatch said. ~ tburr@sltrib.com


Did ANYBODY stop to ask Chris Cannon who has been fighting this battle for 10 years? Did anyone call his office for updates and details? Nope! No one did, because I didn't see one single quote from Chris in this article. Why is that do you suppose?

Why would the reporter report there is no technology, when there absolutely is and Shell Corporation has licensed it. Oh wait, have I said that before? Yes!

I guess he reported it because Steve Smith of the Wilderness Society said so . . . hmmm, there's an impeccable source since he told an outright LIE. Or maybe Steve didn't know what's going on . . . or maybe Steve is simply a "tree-hugging liberal" who'd rather see the extinction of the human race rather than bring economic prosperity back to Utah, oh yeah, and cheaper prices at the gas pumps.

Okay, enough haranguing that guy! Congress -- and need I point out it is a Democratically controlled Congress with the lowest approval rating (11%) in the history of Congress -- has blocked the drilling and development of shale oil in Utah.

If you're not happy with the government, take a look at the Democrats, they're in charge of the House and the Senate. They are the ones who taken the last two years and made a completely mockery of the America we know, jacked the prices up at the gas pump, $4.00 in some areas and $3.60 in my own, and wreaked havoc with the American people and their wallets. That would be the Democrats folks, not the Republicans.

It is the Democrats who blocked drilling in ANWAR, our richest oil source in America.

It is the Democrats who have blocked drilling for shale oil in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming which contains, yeah, I'll say it one more time, five times the amount of oil as the entire Middle East.

It is the Democrats who want to open our borders and let the world come in and eradicate America as she stands. They are pro-Amnesty all the way with no price or justice for breaking our laws. And may I just remind, once again, illegal immigrants have to purchase identities in order to do any semblance of legal work in the United States. So they broke the law by coming over the border illegally, then they compounded it with Identity Fraud. Just to name two laws being broken. But the Democrats will NOT allow the building of that fence.

It is the Democrats who don't approve the job our military has done to protect America.

It is the Democrats who won't allow the building of the fence along the southern border.

This just a little of what the Democrats have done while in power. If you want change, then look to see what change needs to be made rather than wildly voting for any candidate promising change.

Over the next few weeks I will be address, per post, each of the core issues facing this nation. Please people, vote responsibly. Look past the pretty faces to the men and women who have actually been in the trenches working hard to deliver workable immigration solutions (I still like the round 'em all up and send 'em home, but it's not viable), energy solutions, public education solutions, War on Terror solutions and more.

Don't paint Republicans with a Congressional brush, because the Democrats are in charge. The Republicans, some, not all, let us down last time they were in Congressional power. But the Democrats have done a far worse job. Please, look at the entire picture instead of the one tiny corner the Democrats want you to see. You might be surprised.
Oil Shale Development in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado Oil Shale Development in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado Reviewed by Unknown on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Rating: 5

3 comments:

  1. Democratic craniums are severely rectally impacted...

    All that Congress would have to do to drop the price of oil would be to authorize drilling in ANWR and the shale oil deposits. Once our enenmies, yes those people we give billions of dollars to for oil, realize that we're serious about developing our own reserves, they will immediately drop the price to try and discourage us.

    This would happen immediately, well before we even started drilling.

    We should have a national "kick a democrat in the shin," day... ;-)

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  2. I hope you have already shot off a letter to the editor to let them know about the facts they missed.

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  3. This boggles my mind. It hasn't been a question for just 10 years either, I remember 20 years ago hearing about it (my dad works for the power company and did a lot of work in SoUtah.)

    Anywho, my thoughts on the whole thing is that from an environmental perspective it doesn't matter where we are drilling/harvesting energy because its ONE planet. Whether we wreck the earth in Saudia Arabia or alaska or So Utah, its still the same planet. So if we are going to do it, we may as well do it here where our people benefit.

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