**Congressman Geoff Davis**

**1108 Longworth House Office Building**

**Washington, D.C. 20515**

[www.geoffdavis.house.gov](http://www.geoffdavis.house.gov/)

**For Immediate Release:** **Contact:**

July 8, 2008 Alexandra Haynes

\(202\) 225-3465 -- office

\(202\) 593-1635 -- cell

**The Truth about Oil Shale**

**-**- A column by Congressman Geoff Davis

The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline continues to break
records, crossing \$4.10 over Independence Day weekend. Not only has the
pain at the pump squeezed our family budgets and curbed some Fourth of
July celebrations across the Commonwealth, it has also forced the
Kentucky State Police to reduce patrols and caused our school districts
to raise lunch prices and cut bus routes.

The United States possesses abundant domestic energy resources that hold
tremendous potential to increase our energy supply, create jobs and
possibly generate a third industrial revolution in our nation.
Unfortunately, the Democratic Majority in Congress continues to avoid
creating a comprehensive energy strategy that will increase our domestic
energy supply so that we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil from
unstable regions of the world.

It is past time to responsibly explore and develop the plentiful energy
resources that exist on and off our nation's shores. The Interior
Department estimates that there are 112 billion barrels of recoverable
oil beneath U.S. federal lands and coastal waters. That estimate does
not account for oil shale.

America is home to the largest oil shale deposits on Earth. The
Institute for Energy Research estimates that we could extract more than
seven times the amount of crude oil reserves found in Saudi Arabia from
shale in our own country. This would be enough oil to meet current U.S.
demand for more than 250 years.

Oil shale is a type of porous rock that contains trapped oil deposits.
In the past, shale had to be mined, much like coal, and then go through
extensive heat or chemical processing in order to extract the oil.
Today, technology is available that allows companies to drill into oil
shale and insert heating elements that bring the oil to the surface
without the need for mining. This technology has eliminated the need for
disruptive mining methods and lengthy industrial processing, making the
process of extracting oil from shale more efficient, affordable and
environmentally responsible.

In 2005, the Republican-led Congress directed the U.S. Secretary of
Interior to develop a program that would facilitate the production of
America's oil shale resources. However, in 2007, the Democratic Majority
prohibited the Department of the Interior from completing this task by
suspending funding for the project. Now is not the time to restrict our
options.

As global demand for oil continues to grow dramatically, current supply
cannot keep pace. We must take action to use our American energy
resources in a responsible and efficient manner. Seventy-five percent of
Americans support an immediate increase in oil drilling in the United
States. The Democratic Majority has an obligation to the American
people; they must remove unnecessary and outdated laws so that we can
develop and benefit from the resources at our fingertips.

As a nation, we must evaluate all potential solutions for solving our
energy crisis. In the short term, we must effectively utilize our
domestic resources. In addition, we must invest in the creation of
alternative fuels. A sensible energy policy must also address incentives
for increased conservation and efficiency. Finally, we must make
strategic investments in energy research so that the fuels of the future
are safe, clean and affordable for all Americans.