Not a Drop to Drink… But Plenty to Use For Drilling and Mining
Foreshadowing the impending conflicts of the 21st century, a battle is heating up in the American West between water and oil interests. On the one side are those in favor of exploiting the massive oil shale reserves under the Rocky Mountains. These reserves are one of the biggest remaining oil resources in the world– containing three times as much oil as that remaining in Saudi Arabia.
Although oil shale extraction is extremely costly, energy intensive, and polluting, it is the massive amount of water that it consumes that is really bringing out the political opposition. Opponents worry that the Colorado River, which is already being taxed to its limits, can not support the enormous draw that would be required for wide scale shale mining in the region.
As it stands, there is not enough water in the river to meet the current demands of the Western States even today. Due to a combination of over development, waste, drought, climate change, and a basic miscalculation of the river’s normal flow, the Colorado River is one of the most contentious water resources in the world. (Fortunately, these fights are in the civil courts.) Why, opponents wonder, when residents have been forced to drink their own recycled waste water, should so much fresh water now be diverted to exploiting oil production?
Understanding the process by which oil shale is extracted from the ground clarifies why those with water interests are so opposed. The LA Times notes:
Shell has the most mature technology, which it has been experimenting with at its Mahogany test site, near Rifle, Colo. Tucked into a rolling landscape of empty range land, the company has sunk heaters half a mile into oil shale seams and subjected the rock to 700-degree temperatures. Over weeks or even months, a liquid known as kerogen is produced, which can be refined into diesel and jet fuel.
To prevent the brewing hydrocarbons from spoiling groundwater, the heated rock core is surrounded by 20-to-30-foot-thick impermeable ice walls, frozen by electric refrigeration units.
Other companies’ methods are more akin to open pit mining, in which millions of tons of rock are excavated and then fed into a massive above-ground cooker.
However, until recently, the chances of wide scale oil shale development were slim due to a federal ban. But the wisdom of Congress during the recent election season led them to allow that ban to expire on October 31. That wisdom also led Congress to insert tax incentives to encourage oil shale producers to build refineries and other infrastructure in the recent $700 billion financial bailout package.
Illustrating that short-sighted policies are not only limited to our federal government, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. recently declared Utah is “open for business as it relates to oil shale.” Apparently his state, which straddles the Great Basin Desert, isn’t worried too about pollution and drinking water.
- Similar Posts:
- Western U.S. to face major water shortages even without climate change
- The Colorado River, and the Civilization Dependent Upon it, Faces Dramatic Threats
- With Pressure from Drought, San Diego Looks to Reclaim Wastewater
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