Administration blocks more Bush-era oil shale development leases

[Fieldmouse]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-shale26-2009feb26,0,3464328.story[/align][/align]Reporting from Washington and Denver -- The Interior Department on Wednesday blocked a Bush administration plan to open parts of the Mountain West for oil shale development, announcing that it would first study the water, power and land-use issues that complicate one of the nation's most abundant but controversial untapped sources of energy.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar canceled shale development leases on federal land in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming and launched a second round of leases in the region limited to research purposes. In doing so, he rebuked what he called former President George W. Bush's "headlong rush" to begin development.

[/align][/align][/align][/align]"Those who have fantasized that oil shale is a panacea for America's energy needs have been living in a fantasy land," he said.

The move marked the third time in a month that the Obama administration has frozen late-term Bush decisions that sought to spur domestic energy development over objections from environmentalists.[/align][/align]..........Glenn Vawter, executive director of the National Oil Shale Assn., said Salazar's decision on shale leases wasn't a surprise. But critics say the string of Interior announcements, which include canceling some oil leases near national parks and lengthening the public comments process for new offshore drilling, amount to reducing the effort to boost domestic oil production.

"Despite the valuable progress being made in the development of new energy sources and technologies, there is still no viable substitute for oil," Karen Harbert, president and chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy, told a congressional hearing on offshore drilling Wednesday.


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[falcon]

Yep, Obama is an idiot. Oil shale holds the potential to make this country energy independent: Jimmy Carter even saw ther potential in oil shale.The Obama bunch will rant and rave whenoil prices go ^.

[Fieldmouse]

Going up will happen. Whether by demand or due to all the funny money Obama is printing. In the long run, it will get tapped. Oil is the only resource I see in the future to help combat this enormous debt load we face. FYI Obana will out deficit spend all 8 years of GW before the end of 2010.

[Doe Dumper]

Do these sob's think we are all(except them)supposed to live in grass huts and ride mules? What the hell are they thinking...cant mine coal..cant drill oil... Somebody please clue me in on just who these enviro nuts are working for.. I know there is a deeper more nefarious reason other than the coomin good of the planet..

[ipscshooter]

ORIGINAL: Fieldmouse

Going up will happen. Whether by demand or due to all the funny money Obama is printing. In the long run, it will get tapped. Oil is the only resource I see in the future to help combat this enormous debt load we face. FYI Obana will out deficit spend all 8 years of GW before the end of 2010.

Obama's budget projects a national debt of $24 Trillion within 10 years.

Which, on top of the AWB statements made by Eric Holder, provides more proof that EVERYONE who voted for him is an idiot, or wasn't paying attention, or didn't give a rat's butt about our country, or was simply a misguided or misled sap.

Obama supporters are always quick to point out that Bush added $5 Trillion to the national debt in eight years. Obama expects that he'll be adding $13 Trillion. Assclowns.

[Fieldmouse]

Somebody please clue me in on just who these enviro nuts are working for..

Let me ask you something, if you were a certain King in a ceretain country sitting on top of billions of barrels of oil, is there any group you just might want to send money to in order to shore up your position in the market place?

[Doe Dumper]

Id have to say absolutely! It would be fun to follow the money trail of these groups wouldnt it?

[ipscshooter]

Gee... Do you really think Saudis would pay off Obama and Pelosi, et al? Would that even be legal??? [/sarcasm]

[Lemaitre]

Producing crude oil from oil shale has been tried before. After the oil of shock of the 1970s a number of plants were built to try to convert oil shale into oil. All of them shut down due to the insurmountable technical problems involved in making this an economically practical process. Have there been any technical breakthroughs since then that now make oil shale exploitation any more feasible now than it was in the 1970s? The energy companies themselves do not seem to have been showing intense interest in oil shale which may be an indication that even those who would profit most from exploitation of oil shale do not think their is much hope of producing significant amounts of crude oil this way.

[Fieldmouse]

Lemaitre, how is colorado oil shale any different than the Balkin Oil Shale in North Dakota, Sout Dakota, Montanna and on up into Canada where they are getting oil out?