California potrebbe essere stato successivo boom del petrolio

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
California è seduto su una massiccia quantità di olio di scisto e potrebbe diventare il prossimo Stato boom petrolifero. Ma solo se l'industria può ottenere la roba fuori dal terreno senza stravolgere potente lobby ambientale dello Stato.

Esecuzione da Los Angeles a San Francisco, Californiana di Monterey Shale è pensato per contenere più olio di Bakken del Nord Dakota e Texas di Eagle Ford — entrambe le scene di un boom del petrolio che viene creato migliaia di posti di lavoro e potenziato negli USA. la produzione di petrolio per il più alto tasso in oltre un decennio.

n realtà, Monterey è pensato di rinviare 400 miliardi di barili di petrolio, secondo il U.S. Geological Survey. Questa è quasi la metà del petrolio convenzionale in tutta l'Arabia Saudita.

“Quattrocento miliardi di barili, che non sfugge a nessuno in questo le imprese,” ha detto Stephen Trammel, direttore della ricerca energetica a IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates.

Il trucco ora sta fuori.
Come risultato del guasto San Andres, Strati geologici della California sono piegati a fisarmonica piuttosto che semplicemente accatastati in cima a vicenda come sono in altri stati Shale. Le pieghe hanno naturalmente incrinato la roccia shale, e gran parte della corrente della California “convenzionale” produzione di petrolio — la terza più grande della nazione — è pensato per venire dal Monterey.

Ma le pieghe significano recenti progressi che hanno fatto l'olio di scisto e gas redditizio per estrarre — perforazione orizzontale combinato con fratturazione idraulica — non funzionano pure in California. E 'difficile da perforare in orizzontale se il scisto non è piatto.

Di più, it appears the Monterey is made up of shale rock that doesn’t respond as well to hydraulic fracturing — the controversial practice known as fracking that involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into the ground under high pressure to crack the rock and allow the oil and gas to flow.

Ancora, il U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates there are over 15 billion barrels of oil that can be recovered using today’s technology.

“That’s a huge number,” said Matt Woodson, an analyst at the energy research firm Wood Mackenzie. Woodson said the 15 billion number far exceeds current estimates for North Dakota’s Bakken Shale, and is about half the amount held in Alaska’s North Slope before it was tapped.

That potential has attracted the attention of the oil industry.

Several oil companies have put together research teams to work on the Monterey, said Katie Potter, head of exploration and production staffing at NES Global Talent, a company that recruits oil industry professionals.

If the Monterey takes off, Potter said the impact on jobs in the state would be huge, saying the shale boom has already created 600,000 jobs nationwide over the last few years.

“It could potentially solve the state’s budget deficit,” ha detto.

Connesso: Stati Uniti. per diventare il più grande produttore di petrolio — IEA

Il mese scorso, the government held a lease sale to drill in the Monterey. While only a modest 18,000 acres were offered, they were all snapped up.

Occidental (OXY, Fortuna 500), which is California-based and has long held acres in the Monterey, has had some success using a technology known as deep acid injection, said IHS’s Trammel.

The process involves injecting hydrofluoric or other acids deep underground, where they eat away at the shale rock and allow the oil to flow. It’s cheaper than fracking, said Trammel. And while it sounds ominous, it may not be as controversial, as the volumes involved are far less and it’s not done under such pressure, ha detto.

Ancora, no matter how the oil is produced, environmentalists in the Golden State are keeping close watch.

Fracking could still become an issue, as it has in other states where it’s led to fears over groundwater contamination, said Nathan Matthews, a Sierra Club attorney based in San Francisco. And there’s no guarantee acid injection is much better.

Di più, there’s air pollution, road congestion and other issues that go along with an oil boom.

Matthews wants California regulators to require full disclosure of everything the oil industry is putting in the ground, as well as individual permits issued for each well drilled.

“There’s a chance to get this done much better than where it’s been done elsewhere,” said Matthews. “We need to understand the risks before we open the flood gate.”
Regulations or not, there’s still no guarantee there will be an oil boom at all.

“It might not live up to its expectations,” said Fadel Gheit, a senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer. “The industry has not concluded whether it’s boom or bust.”

But given the rapid advances over the last few years in oil drilling and producing technology, the smart money may be on boom.

“There are some pretty creative people in this industry,” said Trammel. “I’d say they are going to figure it out.” To top of page