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Permalink Reply by North LA on September 27, 2009 at 7:52

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_con-energy-oil-consumption

Sounds like a lot but it's not even a month's supply in the U.S.

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Permalink Reply by David on September 27, 2009 at 15:11

That may be true, but as someone from LA and TX who now lives in CA for the last couple of years, I can tell you that if it is 200 million barrels at an average of $75/barrel, that is revenue of $15 billion, royalties probably around $3 billion and that is just for Kern County.

If it is bigger, a big if, but the HS was a big if at one time that only got bigger, then the impact on tax revenues for the state and counties and personal incomes for royalty owners is significant.

Wouldn't it be ironic if there are large fields of oil/gas found in CA that could substantially alleviate the budget problem this state has, but, because of the environmental movement, etc., they don't allow drilling?

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on September 27, 2009 at 15:46

Pipeliner, most of the news articles have confused people. The Oxy find is 150 to 250 million barrels of oil equivalent. The discovery was actually natural gas with associated condensate so not an oil discovery.

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Permalink Reply by Pipeliner on September 27, 2009 at 17:42

I have taken the "Oil" out of the title. I agree the base article is a bit confusing, but that is how it was written. You seldom see gas wells or gas fields listed as so many "barrels of oil equivalent".

There are well known, historically-known large natural crude oil seeps off the coast of Santa Barbara that are causing air quality pollution in Santa Barbara 10 times higher than the level of air quality that is found in Los Angeles, Drilling is forbidden, even though this is an area of producing platforms. Drilling new wells would act as "relief" wells to curb some of the seeps, but are not allowed to be drilled.

This is also where production facilities are disguised as sky-scrapers and as fake palm-tree lined islands. Go figure.

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Permalink Reply by The_Baron on September 28, 2009 at 3:37

The people of California are plain crazy.

I have no pity on their budget problems, and find it funny when their NIMBY attitude creates high prices for fuel and electricity.

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on September 28, 2009 at 13:53

Pipeliner, gald you revised the title. It is clear from the Oxy presentation material that the new find is one or more conventional natural gas reservoirs.

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