EIA estimates California Monterey to have four times the technically recoverable oil of the North Dakota Bakken oil field

EIA US Review of Emerging Resources: US Shale Gas and Shale Oil Plays, July 2011 (105 pages)

The Monterey/Santos oil field in California is estimated to four times the technically recoverable oil as the Bakken Oil Field in North Dakota.

The Monterey field is also estimated to have 500 billion barrels of oil in place The Bakken oil field oil in place estimates range from 271 billion to 503 billion barrels (average estimate of 413 billion barrels).

Harold Hamm (billionaire owner of Continental oil) estimates the Bakken oil field will produce six times (24 billion barrels) the oil of the EIA estimate. Harold Hamm also believes that the San Joaquin Monterey California fields are the next big horizontal drilling play.

There is new technology for drilling which will further reduce the costs (by two thirds or more) and increase the speed of horizontal oil drilling.

UPDATE – The United States could have 6 to 8 trillion barrels of oil in place and 1.2 trillion to 2.4 trillion barrels could be recoverable

The West Coast region includes shale oil plays in the San Joaquin and Los Angeles Basins. Located within these basins is the Monterey/Santos shale oil play with a total area estimated at 1,752 square miles. The reviewed play has an average EUR of 550 MBO per well and approximately 15.42 Bbbl of technically recoverable oil.

The active area for the Monterey/Santos shale play is approximately 1,752 square miles in the San Joaquin and Los Angeles Basin. The depth of the shale ranges from 8,000 to 14,000 feet deep and is between 1,000 and 3,000 feet thick. The shale oil play has an average EUR of 550 MBO per well and approximately 15.42 Bbbl of technically recoverable oil.

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