U.S. oil shale rates may be Canada-based

Oil shale extraction is expected to become a more lucrative business as technology increases, the price for oil stays near an all-time high and a provision in an energy bill passed by the House June 29 offers oil companies a break on royalties. The RAND Corp. estimates an average of 800 billion barrels of oil could be recovered from oil shale in the western part of the United States and the Bureau of Land Management says 70 percent of that is under public lands.

The bill still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed by President Bush, but the royalty provision has sparked the interest of both opponents and proponents, as it could be a boon or bust for oil corporations, the public and the government.

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