The Bakken shale oil fields of North Dakota and Montana began production in 2005. They have produced approximately 11.5 days of world oil consumption since then.
Estimates indicate that the total oil available in the Bakken fields may be as high as eight months of world oil consumption.
The world consumes approximately 87 million barrels of oil per day. That means that it consumes a billion barrels of oil every 11.5 days.
The Bakken oil fields have produced one billion barrels of oil since 2005. The estimate is that the fields will produce a total of 20 billion barrels, or 230 days of world consumption: about 7.6 months.
The headline on Yahoo is that the fields have produced a billion barrels of oil. It is an impressive headline. But to understand the magnitude of the Bakken fields, we need to compare this with consumption.
And the point is?
It's a drop in the bucket. No big deal, despite the impressive production numbers.
World oil consumption is a poor metric unless all the oil from Bakken is being sent to the entire world. Obviously it isn't. Nonetheless, oil consumption in the U.S. and other areas Bakken oil is sold to is relevant.
One billion barrel's worth of profits not going to Arabs.
One billion barrel's, not going to fund Islamists.
Profits not funding Moslem invasion of Europe and
North America.
Billions in sales of oil stsying in The USA improving
OUR Economy!
It's a caution – Peak Oil might be true. Peak rate of exploration is definitely true.
The other way to look at the Baaken Field production is the 1 Billion barrels of oil was over threee years of consumption in the U.S.
Oil if fungible, which means you put your oil in one part of the "international oil market cloud" and your customer takes their oil out from another part of that cloud. They don't get the same oil out as you put in. But you get to put the oil in and they get to take the oil out. In the internet cloud the data is nol fungilbe, because your recipient must take out the same data you put into the cloud. With oil it is different, your customer doesn't need the same oil you put in they just need oil, any oil. So you put some in and they take some out. Oil is fungilbe so world oil consumption is a fine metric.