I said found (discovered), not tapped. There is quite a big difference.

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The Brakken field has been found. They haven't begun massive drilling at all. Only one exploritory well has been drilled. That is how you find Oilfields. I know because I do it.

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Alright, I was mistaken, there have been new discoveries. I was actually incredibly wrong by making that statement, but my point was basically this:

That the peak of oil-field discoveries has passed and we aren't finding regularly the Cantarell fields of Mexico or the Gwahar fields of Saudi Arabia. Now I am not saying we have reached peak oil but discoveries are happening at a much slower rate and will definently need more funding in "field discovery" to keep up production in the future.

heres a link to large oil fields http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oi...est_oil_fields

As you can see I was very wrong as you pointed out.

Also I highly doubt, as your report says, that the bakkan field is believed to have 700 billion barrels of oil. Thats a hell of a lot of oil and basically a combination of Basically every OPEC countries' ultimate production rating, just like I suspect Canada's claims to trillions of barrels of oil in their sand fields. I think those rates are pretty un-realistic especially seeing as there are only a handful of oil fields that exceed 50 billion barrels of oil, and two of those are Saudi Arabia and Kuwait which have been known to inflate their figures to maximize profits in OPEC.

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Wrong again. The Bakken field is huge as is Canadas but it is a different sedimentary formation. The better the technology the easier it is to find these large shales. New technology in Seismic Surveys that sends pulse waves to detail formations is unbelievable. Then you use massive computers to make a 3-D image of the formation and presto. It makes a map of the formation outlined in grids. Its a Petroleum Geologist dream come true. The Bakken is gearing up to be produced and independent producers are bidding on leases to drill there. The investors are as well to. This will be a decades job. New drilling rig techniques such as injections ,tighter tongs and horizontal drilling will be used to drill the holes. On my rigs we are doing the same thing in South Louisiana below New Orleans. These figures are true and there is no doubt these fields are that massive. That is why the technology is being used along with satellites. When you drill you actually are drilling back in time millions of years eons ago. One other thing, don't beleive the peak oil theory. We have been in business since the late 20s started by my grandfather and we have steady drilled for oil since and that theory is a scare tactic to shake up the markets on Wall Street.

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Hmmm, I am actuallly very interested in this topic. I don't know what I really want clarification on, but its all very new to me.

Alright, so I am not an oil expert, I think you proved that to me and the rest of this forum.

However, I do want to know why do they think that there are about 700 billion barrels of oil when the most ever found is about 80 billion. What makes this sedentary deposit so massive? I am not sure if you know the details or not, but I am not finding any good sources of info, so if you have any, I would love to see them.

Also, is this like the tar sands of the Calgary areas? Because if it is, that could explain the large figures.

By the way, I know the problems with the oil oeak theory and its uses in the market to scare up oil prices. However, it seems like there was validiity to it before I learned about this new Bakken oil field.

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The reason for so much oil is because several hundred million years ago in the Mesozoic Age in the Creteceous Period that area was an ocean and tons of marine plantlife, plankton and sea animals. When the marine life died, the sediments containing them became buried and as the depth of burial increases, heat and pressure transform the carbohydrates ( the organic compounds of the dead marinelife) into hydrocarbons which is solid ,liquid or gaseous. This takes place in source rocks, usually very fine-grained rocks known as black shales. Now coal is a solid hydrocarbon derived from land plants. Oil is a liquid hydrocarbon derived primarily from simple marine plants and animals, and natural gas is a gaseous hydrocarbon derived from either terrestrial or marine materials at a higher temperature and pressure than coal or oil. Once the oil is formed, continued pressure from overlying rock strata forces the oil to migrate through permeable rock layers until it is trapped in reservoirs of porous sedimentary rock such as sandstone or limestone, or until it escapes at the surface which is rare. An example is the opening of the tv show "The Beverly Hillbillies" when Uncle Jed sees the oil bubbling up out of the ground. In a reservoir containing more than one fluid, natural gas overlies crude oil which overlies water because of density stratification. I hope this helps.

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Im very much an Environmentalist....

But until we can get going on alternative energy sources...be it nuclear or whatever, I think we seriously need to look into drilling in some of these places on our own shores.

It wouldnt be a massive environmental hit to these places, and if it meant not having to deal with these middle eastern nations as much I think it would ultimately not only save us alot of money....But also would create jobs here at home AND save lives because we wouldnt have as many dealings over there.

Certainly it shouldnt be a substitute for finding alternative sources. But in the meantime it would be a better alternative IMO.

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Oh, well I know the basics of how oil is formed, I have taken some geology classes. My question is why do they think this field has SO MANY more barrels of oil. I mean 700 billion is no small number.

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Because it is a rare field like Saudi Arabias that has the right ingrediants for Oil and Gas. It has high porosity and high fractured permeability source rock. The USGS has done massive amounts of studies and have concluded that it is considered what you would call a continuous reservior which is rare and that it covers such a wide range in thickness. Bottom line it is a rare find and one of a kind. It had a massive abundance of marine life eons ago and the right sedementation.

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That's right right out in the gulf!!!!

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