Well, most of you will.
But you gotta figure, once they discovered one Bakken, there's bound to be another like it somewhere else. Or maybe even multiple ones!
Here's a website promoting the thing:
http://www.tmslandowners.org/index.html
Where it's located:
Yes, it's a landman's website, who will certainly have a vested interest in promoting the thing. However, he does have an academic study from LSU dating back to 1997 to back up his claim. On the website is an abbreviated version of the study:
--> An Unproven Unconventional Seven Billion Barrel Oil Resource - the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale <--
[...]
Reserve Potential
Well logs have shown an average section thickness of 93 ft (28.3m) of prospective TMS section within the 50 ft (15.2m) net resistive TMS contour. If this figure is used as a lower average thickness limit of the shale and if even only 40% of the resistive TMS section has fracture-induced porosity and permeability, then there would still be a net effective section of approximately 37 ft (11.3m) that could potentially yield hydrocarbons. If fracturing is not widespread and/or if porosities are low, then a conservative figure of 50 bbl per acre foot could probably be assumed. Because the shale section within the 50 ft (15.2m) thickness contour covers an area of about 5900 square miles or 3,776,000 acres (15,281 square km) it potentially could produce approximately 7 billion barrels of oil.
[...]
It just so happens that, yes, an oil company did, in fact, discover oil there very recently:
--> LINK <--
Oil Boom, Again?
"Tuscaloosa Marine Shale - Large Oil Resource Play"
Special to The Watchman June 19, 2008
That’s exactly what Fort Worth, Texas–based Encore Acquisition Company called it last month in a seven-page press release on the prospective oil zone known as the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale. Encore describes its program as a "large oil resource play" covering 5,900 square miles, of which Encore has already leased some 208,000 net acres.
Encore’s press release goes on to state that it has drilled two wells to date. First is the Joe Jackson Appraisal Well in Amite County, with initial production on a lateral length of 1,650’ that was fractured in three stages and placed on pump with an initial production of 175 barrels of oil per day. The second well, the Richland Plantation Appraisal Well located in East Feliciana Parish, is currently awaiting testing.
[...]
And here's news on that second well, completed in May:
--> LINK <--
Oil Discovered in East Feliciana, Amite
Special to The Watchman June 26, 2008
All eyes have been pointing to the northern end of the Parish on the Louisiana/Mississippi state line. The interest concerns the lands of Dr. Jack Jones, where, Department of Conservation records indicate, the Encore Acquisition Company spud an oil well on October 3, 2007. A direct quote from the public records indicates the following:
COMPLETED 5/5/08 AS A OIL WELL IN THE TUSCALOOSA MARINE SHALE RES;PM F; 74 BOPD; 10 MCFD; 350 CP; 8/64 CK; 35 BWPD; .20%BS&W; 135 GOR; 38.7 GRVTY PERFS 13850-15900' (ST: 10)
The Watchman has asked Petroleum Landman Dan S. Collins, who has an office in Clinton, to interpret the results of that information. Mr. Collins offered the following on a literal interpretation of those heiroglyphics and indicated the general leasing environment that surrounds this announcement.
"Of course, the date indicates the completion date and the formation or reservoir that was targeted. Wells are frequently worked on after their completion date, and production increased to above the figures offered upon completion, but on that day and that time production was as listed.
[...]
38.7 gravity oil. Not bad!
Last, but not least, here is the PDF from Encore describing their plans and results there.
-> Tuscaloosa Marine Shale: Large Oil Resource Play <--
I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this in the future. I just know you're all excited!