Pretty Lame Explanation for Bakken Oil

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Pretty Lame Explanation for Bakken Oil

by Keith Patton
(Katy, Texas)

I've been a petroleum geologist for 29 years and the explanation above is the lamest I have seen in a long while. Your figures of "continuous" versus "discrete" oil deposits differ only in spacial distribution and are false and misleading.

If your description was anywhere near accurate it would negate the one thing that has any hope of making the Trend economically productive: Horizontal Drilling. While the trend may be discontinuous, the pay is distributed in large continuous thin bodies that make its exploitation ideal for horizontal drilling as opposed to vertical wells. One horizontal well can drain a vast area whereas it would take tens of wells to do the same with vertical drilled wells.

Of course you do not mention that. Instead you trot out the same old false logic that this play or that play will only supply X number of years or months of production if it is drilled and exploited. The same arguments made back in the early 70's about Prudoe Bay and oh wait, that field has been producing now for almost 40 years!

You quacks make arguments based on angstrom thin understanding of an industry and technology that you profess to hate because it stands for everything you aren't. The oil industry has been an example of optimism, entrepenurship and progressive ideas since its inception at the turn of the century.

All I can remember the green revolution doing for me was giving me an excuse to skip some classes on Earthday. It has ever and always been about obstructionism.

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Pretty Lame Explanation for Bakken Oil

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Jan 19, 2012
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He is right NEW
by: Anonymous

While I don't question your motives, I agree with the geologist, being one myself, and very familiar with the Bakken. Technology, once again, has changed the game. Not even the Majors believed it was possible 5 years ago. But it is happening right before our eyes and the facts support it. With all due respect, you are simply wrong on this, sir.

Mar 07, 2011
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Bakken update.
by: SumDav

I thank you for using this page as a place for intelligent debate. I for one find it iritating that people who disagree with an opinion just throw insults back and forth.
I have some (very little) first hand experience with the Bakken formation. I am working up in North Dakota and drive a water truck.
I am hearing from the people in charge there that there is several hundred billion bbls of oil and that is an under estimate. I have heard there is enough oil there (extractable) to last over 80 years AT the rate we are using it now. New developments in drilling have made it possible to extract a greater amount than previously thought.
I do agree with you that we need to start using more wind and solar sources but the government and tree huggers are making that hard too.... where there is wind there is some plant or bug that "the wind turbine poles would interfere with"... "making solar panels uses too much power to make it worthwhile". At the moment the cost to install these sources are still not feasible.
Please try to update your information on the main page.... Thanks again.

Jan 11, 2011
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follow the money
by: geophysicist

If you really want to know why this is being downplayed by the govt and environmentalists, then just follow the money trail. See who is trying to goble up all of the acreage.

Dec 03, 2009
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If what you say is true
by: Ray

Keith, Sounds like (if what you say is true) the only thing in the way of extracting this oil is to drill baby drill. Of coarse our government knows better then those in the business and will feed us a bunch of bologna only to advance their agenda of bankrupting America to bring in their Socialistic agenda. I say if the oil is there we need to vote in those that want to return America back to what She was founded upon, United as one Nation Under GOD. We need to get rid of the environmentalist, the Green people and the global warmers, etc. and start putting America back on Her feet and climb to the top, because we have slipped down a few notches almost to the point of not being number One in the world. I say lets stand up and DRILL! Forty years out of this well in Bakken would be great! Good start huh? Thanks for your knowledge Keith,

Nov 05, 2009
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NEA
by: Anonymous

This is a typical response from an uneducated of thr teaching profession. You don't seem to have respect for real science only hearsay without documentation. You should be or are a government employee in DC.

Nov 04, 2009
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I'm no Geologist
by: Roger (admin)

You are correct in that I am not a geologist and since you profess to be, I have to respect your knowledge in these areas.

In my defense, I have suggested horizontal drilling as a way of overcoming the continuous nature of the Bakken Oil field and I am certain that as soon as such methods become profitable they will be employed to provide the US or whoever owns the drilling rights to the full measure of the wealth potential in that area.

I am a school teacher and as such my specialty is making difficult concepts easy to understand. This was the purpose of the Bakken Oil article on my website, and I used data provided by the USGS for this purpose.

As for being a far left "reds under the bed" greenie, I claim no such title (I love that term). I am interested in the facts and the facts alone. Can the Bakken Oil Field help the US to achieve energy independence and so hopefully eventually move to cleaner and more renewable energy sources? I sure hope so even though I am not a US resident. Where the US goes, the world follows. In Australia this is certainly the case.

I understand the role that the so-called "fossil fuel" industry has played in the development of first world nations; if you are in any doubt of this you can have a look at the "benefits of fossil fuels" article I have on this same website, here:

http://www.green-planet-solar-energy.com/advantages-of-fossil-fuels.html

I welcome frank and open discussion of the facts and I try (sometimes more successfully than others!) to keep an open mind on ALL issues. What I think is clear though is that at some stage in the near future, for whatever reason, we will have to move beyond a dependence on oil , coal and natural gas. In my opinion the ways to do that are through solar power and wind power. These are resources that will never disappear, at least not while our species is on this planet. I may be wrong but that is a risk we all face.

Please feel free to expand on your comments in your original post and if you are able to provide verifiable information as to where my description of the situation is wrong, I will happily modify my article.

Thanks for your contribution, and I look forward to hearing from you and all other readers of this article.

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Pretty Lame Explanation for Bakken Oil

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Pretty Lame Explanation for Bakken Oil