Flashback -- 1992!

Just how much oil might there be in the continental US (the lower 48)? Flashback to a Leigh C Price and Julie A LeFever article back in 1992, the concluding paragraph in the abstract:

Numerous other self-sourced, fractured shale reservoirs produce oil commercially. If the thin Bakken shales have generated 100 billion BO, then it is possible that the lower 48 states of the US contain an unrecognized oil-resource base in the trillions of barrels. 

Important, important phrases to emphasize from the above:

• this was from 1992, well before we had the technology to reach this oil
• note: the "thin" Bakken; the Bakken is incredibly thin compared to other plays like the Permian
• Price and LeFever were very, very conservative in their OOIP in the Bakken, suggesting "100 billion BO." In fact, Leigh Price suggested 500 billion bbls of OOIP
• Price and LeFever suggest trillions of bbls of oil-resource base -- this is not natural gas, but oil

To some, "trillions" might seem like hyperbole, but we all agree (now) that the Bakken probably has 500 billion bbls OOIP. The Permian, being much thicker, probably has much more. Then we have the Eagle Ford, and the Niobrara. And STACK and SCOOP in Oklahoma. And then about a dozen other plays that were jolted by the Saudi Surge.

So, "trillions" does not seem like hyperbole. And that paper was written back in 1992. Peer reviewed and published.

So, who was singin' in 1992?

In The Real West, Tish Hinojosa   Wow, I haven't seen "Tish" as a woman's name in a long, long time. I don't recall much about her any more but years and years ago I had a "crush" on a woman named "Tish." If I recall correctly we were both married at the time, and not to each other. But it was just a fantasy, nothing more. Trust me.