The Kiplinger Letter's comments on ENERGY for the week of 03/07/08 *****************************************************
A new black gold rush is under way, this time in North Dakota. The potential payoff is huge...up to 100 billion barrels of oil. That's twice the size of Alaska's reserves...enough to meet U.S. needs for 20 years. An official government estimate is due out next month. Until now, the obstacles to production seemed overwhelming. The crude oil is locked away in rocks that are buried miles underground in the Bakken Play, a field that stretches into Montana and Canada. But times have changed. High oil prices and new technology make it worth the effort. Marathon Oil, Tristar Oil & Gas, EOG Resources and Crescent Point Energy Trust are all interested in some of the action. Figure on at least five years before the oil starts flowing. As for Congress' effort to push alternative energy: Forget it. At least for this year. Expect the Senate to bury the House plan to add a 50ยข a gallon tax credit for ethanol produced from farm waste and forestry, trash, etc. Dead, too, are bigger breaks for buyers of hybrid cars and double credits for home energy efficiency measures. The problem is the cost: $18 billion. Democrats would pay for it by revoking oil company credits, but that'll never get past Republicans. -- Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
