Huge Shale Oil Discovery Reported in Australia

According to a report in the Calgary Herald, the central Australian outback could contain up to 233 billion barrels of oil in shale formations. The discovery was reported by Linc Energy and was based on two consultants’ reports that estimated the company’s 16 million acres of land in the Arckaringa Basin in South Australia contain between 133 billion and 233 billion barrels of shale oil trapped in rocks. It was estimated that only 3.5 billion barrels, worth almost $359 billion at today’s oil price, could be recovered. The find was likened to the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale oil projects in the U.S.  However, a Linc Energy’executive noted that it would cost about 200 million pounds (approximately 300 million dollars) to enable production in the area. Read more