Energy execs say West could rival Saudi Arabia

Energy company executives told a House subcommittee on Thursday that Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming could become the next Saudi Arabia if they can find a way to extract the billions of barrels in oil shale, a porous rock containing petroleum.

By tapping into oil shale, supporters say, the U.S. could replace all trans-Atlantic oil imports by 2025.

But they need help from the federal government, which oversees 80 percent of the land where the oil deposits are found.