Eccos is all about Ecology and Environment issues.
We post every day articles about the environment and ecology. On eccos you can find important details and tips for your day rotine, learn how to protect yourself from environmental stress and how to protect the environment. And above all, learn how to use the ecology concept in your day to day, that is, how to be green!
Demand of Crude Oil
- Annual World oil consumption (2010) = 33.4 billion barrels per year.
- Annual World oil consumption (2030) = 43.1 billion barrels per year.
- Annual U.S. oil consumption (2010) = 8.0 billion barrels per year.
- Annual U.S. oil consumption (2030) = 10.1 billion barrels per year.
Graph from the IEA Annual Energy Outlook 2009
Supply of Crude Oil
- World proven crude oil reserves = 1.3 trillion barrels.
- U.S. proven crude oil reserves = 21.3 billion barrels.
Can Oil Shale be part of the Solution?
- Known world oil shale reserves = 2.8 trillion barrels.
- Oil shale reserves in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming = 1.5 trillion barrels.
- Recoverable oil shale reserves in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming = 600 – 800 billion barrels.
Locked in the rocks of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming lies a mammoth energy resource called “oil shale.” These three states contain at least 5-times more oil than the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia. We have studied ways to unlock oil shale since the early 20th century. However, these attempts were limited by technology, economics, and environmental concerns.
Things are different now. Energy prices are on a steep upward trend. Easily developed crude oil reserves are running out. Emerging economies are securing energy resources around the World. Price spikes, like what we saw in 2008 – and are seeing now – will be more severe and frequent.
Equally as important, we are discovering solutions to unlocking the potential of oil shale. Dozens of companies, universities, national laboratories, public agencies, and governments around the World are making enormous strides in developing the technologies that may produce oil shale cleanly and economically.
The United States needs to develop as many home-grown energy sources as possible – traditional, unconventional, and renewable. A vibrant domestic energy industry is essential for the U.S. economy and national security. With continued research, support and incentives, oil shale could play a major role in the U.S. energy portfolio for the next century.