OZ: 20 Trillion Dollar Shale Oil Find (Australian Self reliance on Oil)

I have a feeling the Chinese will be showing up for aggressive business negotiations. The question is will the Australian people sell the drilling rights to European/American energy companies, Chinese energy companies or split them up nicely to play fair on all sides? Thats my main question.

According to CBC Radio news, the only way to extract this oil is through fracking.
Also, much of this oil shale lies beneath a major aquafier.
Can anybody say; Major ecological disaster?

Originally posted by Beartracker16
According to CBC Radio news, the only way to extract this oil is through fracking.
Also, much of this oil shale lies beneath a major aquafier.
Can anybody say; Major ecological disaster?

Yeah, it's not the most ecologically sound process. I haven't yet bothered to research the site - no tangible benefit to Australians like me = no real interest unless it turns out to be really bad and something worth protesting over. If Beartracker is correct and the CBC broadcast mentioned fracking, then that would indicate that the shale must be processed in situ and then extracted, rather than the shale extracted and then processed.

According to en.wikipedia.org... these in situ methods of extraction are seriously environmentally harmful. The most common method, and the one closest to fracking as we know it involves pumping heated fluids into the shale layers to fracture them and turn any liquid shale oil to gas for extraction by steam pressure or suction. IF the shale oil site in question is located underneath an aquifer then expect said aquifer to be adversely affected.

As always it'll be a question of "does the income generated cancel out the environmental damage?" I think not.

Originally posted by Beartracker16
According to CBC Radio news, the only way to extract this oil is through fracking.
Also, much of this oil shale lies beneath a major aquafier.
Can anybody say; Major ecological disaster?

Which aquifer?

The trick is never let the left know what the rights doing. The French own the water, the yanks the weather, the Romans own the religions, the Chinese own Australia's resources, the illuminati own everything and everyone.