Geologists discovered a new oil field in West Texas, which overshadows other deposits found so far in the United States - but the low price of oil means that it will be some time to stand before they started pumping.

According to estimates, the field contains 20 billion barrels of oil and 1.6 billion barrels of natural gas, according to a study from the U.S. Geological survey. Our task is to estimate the amount of recoverable oil," said a member of the evaluation team, Chris Schenk. Oil field, which encompasses the cities of Lubbock and Midland - 118 miles from each other - the biggest discovery of the United States, according to the U.S. Geological survey.

The term "continuous oil" refers to unconventional formations like shales, in which there is oil over the entire formation, not in separate pools. According to estimates by the U.S. Geological survey, how much oil is considered undiscovered, but technically recoverable.

"Even in areas that have produced billions of barrels of oil, there is still the potential to find billions of dollars", said Walter Guidroz, program coordinator, USGS energy resources in the statement. "Changes in technology and industry practices can have a significant impact on resources that are technically recoverable, and that is why we continue to carry out assessment resources throughout the United States and the world."

The oil was extracted in the Wolfcamp area since 1980 traditional vertical wells - but now companies are using horizontal drilling. More than 3 thousand horizontal wells currently working, according to the U.S. Geological survey.
sections: Economics, World News