Washington – Energy company executives told Congress 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.
A key official from Colorado urged Congress to take care, however, and make sure to avoid another boom and bust like the one that hit the state 25 years ago.
The U.S. has done little studying of oil shale development since, cautioned Russell George, Colorado Department of Natural Resources executive director. “We need to get on with it,” he said.
As they consider bills that set the nation’s policy regarding which energy sources to encourage, many in Congress are pushing for ways to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil.
