Oil May Be Finite, But U.S. Production Is Ramping Up

Posted by timothy on Sunday October 9, 2011 @01:37AM from the good-to-the-last-drop dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "The WSJ reports that the discovery of the gigantic and prolific Bakken oil fields of Montana and North Dakota have already helped move the U.S. into third place among world oil producers, and according to Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources, the 14th-largest oil company in America, if fully developed the field in Bakken contains 24 billion barrels, doubling America's proven oil reserves. One reason for America's abundant supply of oil and natural gas has been the development of new drilling techniques, including 'horizontal drilling,' which allows rigs to reach two miles into the ground and then spread horizontally by thousands of feet." Not surprisingly, Hamm considers some of the current administration's loans and subsidies for alternative energy ventures to be misplaced.

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Re:Reserves isn't the only reason... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-09 02:19 · Score: 5, Funny

As opposed to renewable energy sources who's sites are crewed by unicorns?
Re:Wow by mattcsn · 2011-10-09 02:49 · Score: 5, Funny

Oh, come on. Don't you know anything about capitalism? If there's sufficient demand for oil, then the market will provide for more dinosaurs to be turned into oil on the supply side. Didn't you ever take an economics course?