Bakken no energy panacea

Those who deny that peak oil is a near-term problem can be so predictable. Hours after the U.S. Geological Survey released its study Thursday showing that the Bakken oil formation has up to 4.3 billion barrels of “technically recoverable oil,” the emails started trickling in.

There’s plenty of oil out there.

We just have to keep looking.

Peak oil is a scam.


The U.S. government’s press release did look impressive, mind you. The Bakken Formation, a 40,000 square kilometre territory reaching into Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Montana, and North Dakota, showed a “25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered,” at least compared to 1995 estimates.

A 25-fold increase? That’s huge