The U.S. is the “Saudi Arabia” of oil shale, a potentially huge domestic resource of oil. As current technologies for processing oi shale require substantial amounts of water, oil companies are naturally purchasing water rights in the West.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that the green group Western Resource Advocates has issued a report on the oil industry’s water rights acquisitions.
The aim of the report is to pit “Colorado communities, farmers, ranchers” against the oil industry in order to stymie oil shale development and American energy independence.
Steve Milloy’s new book Green Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them spotlights how the greens are trying to cause chaos in our energy and water supplies.
I frequently marvel at the fact that the US has an overwhelming abundance of coal – and it has been demonized as “too dirty”.
We have an abundance of shale oil – and it has likewise been demonized.
In any case, I expect the greenies subversion to fail. In my state there is a shale formation now undergoing production. It’s a different shale and it makes gas rather than oil.
The key fact is that the “communities, farmers and ranchers” all get generous royalty checks. The drilling goes horizontal and in addition to those listed above, airports, homeowners, neighborhoods, city parks, high schools, universities, etc., receive royalties, having never seen the drill rig.
So, Colorado, glad to see you don’t need the money, jobs and so forth.
Happy Trails!