Will The Bakken Oil Fields Save U.S. Gas Costs?

The Bakken oil fields might not be an instantly familiar term, yet they could hold some solutions to U.S. oil dependency. If they possess a large enough reserve, foreign oil could be on its way out.

In the upper U.S. and Canada there is an area under ground called the Bakken formation. This formation is comprised mainly of oil shale. So,if this all oil is sitting under North Dakota and Montana, can the U.S. end its dependence on foreign oil?

There are actually quarrels for both sides. Some think there is loads of oil in the Bakken oil fields. There's been a current boom of activity in this area, and brand-new technologies have been produced with promising results.

However, there are critics that say the amount of available oil would never make a dent in U.S. oil use. The tough part about this argument is that many efforts have been made to calculate the quantity of available oil, but not anyone is sure how much is there. The oil, that is located in the shale of the Bakken formation,is shipped all through the rock. If it was all pooled in 1 location it'd be effortless to drill down and get. Simply because it is spread everywhere, traditional drilling is a costly option to get it.

The bakken oil fields were overlooked for a bit fewer than half a century because of this fact. Nowadays, nonetheless, completely new technologies are located. Horizontal drilling and hydrofracking have made the procedure easier and more affordable. Fracturing the rock may free up the oil and make it accessible. This process needs massive quantities of water and chemicals, and has come under question due to this fact. For the present time, fracking is legitimate in such states, so production just isn't supposed to slow.

In fact, yields are supposed to boost. Some are calling the phenomenon in North Dakota an "oil boom." Whether it'll last or not is arguable, but the oil fields are already displaying results.

The U.S. can make an income off of the Bakken oil fields, but it doesn't necessarily indicate all U.S. oil will come from home. Saudi Arabia creates around 9 billion barrels of oil a year and quite a few sources put the Bakken reserves at anywhere from 3 to 500 billion barrels. At very best, Bakken can help the U.S. for numerous yrs, yet at worst the location holds a couple months value of fuel.

The only sure summary is that the market will find a method to utilize all of the oil in the region. It isn't a question of if the Bakken oil fields will be drilled, yet of how much oil will be found there.