- U.S. energy authorities have slashed by 96% the estimated amount of recoverable oil in California's Monterey Shale deposits, deflating its potential as a national "black gold mine" of petroleum, the LA Times reports.
- Just 600M barrels of oil can be extracted with existing technology, far below the 13.7B barrels once thought recoverable; the new estimate is expected to be released publicly next month.
- The Monterey Shale formation contains about two-thirds of U.S. shale oil reserves, and had been seen as an enormous bonanza for California's economy and U.S. energy security.
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