As crude oil costs continue to rise by leaps and bounds and because America depends so heavily on this oil, more US companies are looking for sources at home to lessen our grip of dependence on foreign countries.
For many years oil has been lurking deep underground in the United States but until recent improvements in reaching the oil via horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) took place, it was far too expensive a process to remove that oil.
But now so many advances have been made in this field that Americans could be looking at less dependence on foreign oil and less cost for oil and gas. Three large shale oil plays have been discovered: the Bakken, which is so large it spreads into three geographic areas (portions of North Dakota, Montana and Saskatchewan, Canada), the Barnett shale and the Eagle Ford shale are both located in Texas. Investors far and wide are interested in these oil plays, which can mean only one thing – they’re betting on that black gold.
