USGS Bakken study going to come up with?

So. . . How Much??

So, what is the imminent USGS Bakken study going to come up with? Supposedly, it pertains to projected recoverable oil from MT, ND and Canada (since when did the USGS start estimating what's in Canada?), and not to the amount of oil generated or in place.

There must be at least one savant out there that can predict this to within 10-15 million bbls, not? Unless someone wants to donate some mineral rights, I don't see there being any prize to the winner, except knowing that you probably should have instead picked some lottery numbers. (I don't see this contest going anywhere for some reason.)

I don't think we'll let Mr. Steece from SD play, as he isn't quite sure where the Bakken extends. (Hint: look at some logs of some wells in SD and see if you can find it -- you won't). The part that really cracks me up is the "not fully convinced" and "it would not be wise" parts.

From the 4/8 Sioux Falls Argus Leader:

Fred Steece, oil and gas supervisor for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said its not clear how much of the formation reaches South Dakota and whether the parts that do contain recoverable oil reserves. “Geologically, were not fully convinced that the productive zone of the Bakken extends into South Dakota,” Steece said.

“Otherwise, Im sure there would be people in here. There would be leasing and test drilling.” Its possible South Dakota could benefit from a Bakken boom, Steece said, adding that it would not be wise to start planning on bountiful production estimates based on expansive reserves that could be difficult to extract.