U.S. officials cut estimate of recoverable Monterey Shale oil by 96% (LA Times)

[pinto]

U.S. officials cut estimate of recoverable Monterey Shale oil by 96%

Federal energy authorities have slashed by 96% the estimated amount of recoverable oil buried in California's vast Monterey Shale deposits, deflating its potential as a national "black gold mine" of petroleum..

Just 600 million barrels of oil can be extracted with existing technology, far below the 13.7 billion barrels once thought recoverable from the jumbled layers of subterranean rock spread across much of Central California, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

The new estimate, expected to be released publicly next month, is a blow to the nation's oil future and to projections that an oil boom would bring as many as 2.8 million new jobs to California and boost tax revenue by $24.6 billion annually.

<snip>

Environmental organizations welcomed the news as a turning point in what had been a rush to frack for oil in the Monterey formation.

"The narrative of fracking in the Monterey Shale as necessary for energy independence just had a big hole blown in it," said Seth B. Shonkoff, executive director of the nonprofit Physicians Scientists & Engineers for Healthy Energy.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-oil-20140521-story.html

(map of CA Monterey shale regions at website)

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Too bad, so sad.

If only someone had had a chance to invest a few billion $$$ in it first -- what a lost opportunity for a write-off.

[GliderGuider]

2. Drat! There go our chances for extinction by 2030.

We needed that carbon to make our deadline, dammit!

[OnlinePoker]

3. Pure genius

Fracking is causing earthquakes in hotspots such as Oklahoma. Let's start doing it in fault zones and see what damage can really be done.

[GeorgeGist]

4. Fracking on the San Andreas.

What could possibly go wrong.

[Champion Jack]

5. another bubble about to burst

[hunter]

6. Good. The fracking predictions were nuts anyways.

The formation was naturally fracked by seismic activity and the easy oil has mostly been collected.



Fracking is a market bubble anyways. The guys getting rich are selling a dream of continuing oil and gas production to suckers who will be extremely disappointed in the final accounting.