US looks to Canada for oil sands advice
Governors from Mississippi and Alabama are seeking help developing their oil-sands deposits, writes Shaun Polczer
Governors from Mississippi and Alabama are looking north to Canada for help developing their states' oil-sands deposits. On 27 July, Mississippi governor Phil Bryant and Alabama governor Robert Bentley said they would set up a joint commission to study the Hartselle formation's oil-sands resources, which stretches from northwest Alabama into northeastern Mississippi. The Hartselle is of Mississippian age, dating to the Carboniferous period. The play is a mixture of sand, shale and coal. It is also a source of tight gas. The presence of oil in the Hartselle has been established for decades; the earliest references date back to 1891. The Department of Energy has been studying enhanced recovery
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