Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Hydraulic Fracturing: New Drilling Method Opens Vast Oil Fields In US

Mostly hydraulic fracturing was originally used for natural gas, but has now proved to work for oil as well. Of course the Enviro-whackos, the bird whacker supporters and others don't like anything that produces more cheap oil. The practice is spreading worldwide.

A new drilling technique is opening up vast fields of previously out-of-reach oil in the western United States, helping reverse a two-decade decline in domestic production of crude.

Companies are investing billions of dollars to get at oil deposits scattered across North Dakota, Colorado, Texas and California. By 2015, oil executives and analysts say, the new fields could yield as much as 2 million barrels of oil a day — more than the entire Gulf of Mexico produces now.

This new drilling is expected to raise U.S. production by at least 20 percent over the next five years. And within 10 years, it could help reduce oil imports by more than half, advancing a goal that has long eluded policymakers.

So will the EPA ban it? Stay tuned, I bet they try.

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