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Future of Oil Shale Debated During Western Slope Forum

by Matt Kroschel

Story Created: Jan 24, 2012 at 10:03 PM MST

Story Updated: Jan 24, 2012 at 10:17 PM MST

Grand Junction - Oil Shale.

Two experts with completely different ideas sit together at the same table to answer questions about what the future of this potential energy source could look like. Jeremy Boak is a Colorado School of Mines professor director who has been studying oil shale for years. Randy Udall is an energy analyst who has studied oil shale for decades.

These polar opposites opened up the dialogue Tuesday night, something that has not been done in a long time. Western Colorado has a long love-hate relationship with oil shale development. In the past, booms and busts have left many people wary of the process to get the oil from rock.

Experts estimate there are trillions of barrels of oil locked in shale rock under our feet. To put that in perspective, some estimates show oil shale providing 100 years of oil supply for the United States.

Udall does not believe this dream of producing oil from shale is ever never going to come to a reality.

Boak, though, is sticking with shale. He said as technology gets better, the chances for oil shale development to crank up here on the Western Slope are good.

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Floyd said on Wednesday, Jan 25 at 9:49 PM

If the environmentalists had used the billions they got from the gov't. for research instead of enhancing their lifestyles, maybe there would be renewable resources available that everyone could afford instead of unreliable science by unreliable environmentalists. Nothing the environmentalists do can be affordable to the every day people. For your information, the oil shale makes the best jet fuel on the planet, it stands to reason it will also make the best fuel for what it is needed for.

Ray said on Wednesday, Jan 25 at 7:23 AM

No "Rocket Science": If we had the "Technology" to really get the "crappy poor quality" Oil from the shale - We wouldn't need the oil....

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