I found an article about Earth Energy Resources, Inc., and their plans to extract oil from Utah state land. I have not heard of this before, and could not find anything on a search of DKos.
Link to the article: http://news.yahoo.com/...
SALT LAKE CITY – Beneath the lush, green hills of eastern Utah's Uinta Basin, where elk, bear and bison outnumber people, the soil is saturated with a sticky tar that may soon provide a new domestic source of petroleum for the United States. It would be a first-of-its kind project in the country that some fear could be a slippery slope toward widespread wilderness destruction.
Earth Energy currently has over 7,800 acres of Utah state land under lease. There are also plans to acquire more state land, and other companies are expected to begin to mine once Earth Energy has success.
There are strong objections by enviromental groups, especially Living Rivers.
This is not just a 62-acre project that will last seven years. We are looking at a 30,000-acre project that will destroy the environment in this area over many years," said John Weisheit, a Colorado River guide and founder of the Moab, Utah-based environmental group Living Rivers.
They will be using a similar system to the one used in Canada to extract oil from the tar sands there. The big difference would be the citrus-based solvent that will be used. Supposedly, the different solvent will lessen the environmental impact of the extraction. Has anybody heard of this citrus-based solvent and how safe it might be?
Earth Energy says it will deploy a "revolutionary" new extraction process in Utah using a citrus-based solvent that "leaves behind no toxic chemicals" or the need for retention ponds, ensuring it doesn't harm wildlife or other natural resources.
The following quote from the article explains why this type of resource is now being considered.
Unconventional oil — petroleum in any form other than fluid — has been eyed by the industry for years but largely considered not economically viable until recently. The major source of unconventional oil in the U.S. is shale, rock with all the necessary ingredients that wasn't buried under the right conditions to produce oil. But it's all getting a fresh look now as the untapped reserves are being seen as part of the future of domestic supplies.