$20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
#1
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$20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
South Australia is sitting on oil potentially worth more than $20 trillion, independent reports claim - enough to turn Australia into a self-sufficient fuel producer.
Must be a hell of a lot more out there somewhere as well.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/nat...-1226560401043
Must be a hell of a lot more out there somewhere as well.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/nat...-1226560401043
#4
Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
As for your second point, I refer the honourable gentleman to the answer I gave earlier.
#5
Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
I thought the problem with shale oil was the cost of conversion, and that it was accepted that sooner or later the price of oil would make shale oil extraction economic.
Am i wrong?
Am i wrong?
#6
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Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
I read somewhere that for every 100 tons of shale you get 3 tons of oil, which has got to be pretty pricey, but then if that's the only source of oil one day...
#7
Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
Tight Oil (which is what they are talking about when they mention fracking) is when the rock isn't permeable, so the oil gets stuck where its created. As you can imagine, there are wide areas of the world with such circumstances.
People have known since the 1960s how to use explosions and high pressure liquid to break apart such areas of rock underground, allowing some oil to flow out. But its expensive since you are having to do the job nature does for you on conventional fields, and because it doesn't take long for the flow to stop (because the rock isn't permeable, natch).
Not all tight oil fields are equal.
Fairly obviously there are areas where lots of oil was created and trapped, and areas where little was. So just saying there is oil means **** all.
For the high quality fields, the current price is *just* about enough to make money off drill the prospects. You can be fairly certain of getting something, but it can be touch and go if the density of oil means you will get out more money that you put in. These wells tend to die in 1-2 years.
So, as the price goes up you can move down the quality spectrum - but doing so means less oil from each well, so you need more wells drilled, more often, to keep up a flow rate (its a red queen race).
This PR release says basically *** all and is there to reap money from gullible fools in Oz/China with dollar signs in their eyes. Actually the best prospects in Oz are thought to be in QLD.
#8
Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
Different type of 'shale' oil - more the Alberta type. They use the term to apply to at least three different types of field - as I said, real estate level of lying.
#9
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Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
Made Linc shares jump though Australia remains in a relatively strong position here though because as far as I know it is still one of the few OECD that net exports hydrocarbons. Crude oil is the problem. The bulk of it is off WA, Vic and NT but it's running out fast. Bottom line is humans use too much oil because the economic system demands constant growth or there will be collapse.
#10
Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
Made Linc shares jump though Australia remains in a relatively strong position here though because as far as I know it is still one of the few OECD that net exports hydrocarbons. Crude oil is the problem. The bulk of it is off WA, Vic and NT but it's running out fast. Bottom line is humans use too much oil because the economic system demands constant growth or there will be collapse.
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Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
#12
Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
It would be an interesting exercise to convert each nations imports and exports into a common energy value and compare them.
If I get free time this weekend I will run through the numbers.
If I get free time this weekend I will run through the numbers.
Last edited by slapphead_otool; Jan 24th 2013 at 12:10 am. Reason: compare not convert!!!!
#13
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Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
#14
Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'
They don't have an 'all' option yet, but they do produce figures in Mtoe, so you can manually do it, and I think the BP numbers that this is based on include a total.
Edit, actually, just go to the 'All fuels' tab
Last edited by GarryP; Jan 24th 2013 at 12:25 am.
#15
Re: $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia'