Bush knows oil better than Stein

In your Tuesday "Opinion" page, Ed Stein's cartoon skewers President Bush once more with what I think are facts not in evidence.

Specifically, he implies President Bush and others don't know that there is no way to get promised oil out of U.S. shale deposits.

I suggest that it's Mr. Stein who doesn't know what he is talking about.

I lived in Texas twice and still visit the state a couple of times each year.

You can't live in Texas without picking up a reasonable understanding of the oil and gas business that has dominated the state's economy for a long time.

In my recent visits to Texas, I came to know about the Barnett Shale -- reputedly the largest land-based natural gas-bearing shale deposit in the U.S.

At this time, drilling rigs are all over Tarrant and surrounding counties gaining access to energy deposits in the shale. It's actually quite a sight -- especially at night when the rigs are lit up like carnival rides.

The shale has always been there, but technical difficulties and economics made drilling futile.

However, in the last several years, new hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies made it economically-feasible to drill and extract the gas.

These techniques have applicability for drilling in any shale deposit.

I know that President Bush isn't supposed to really know anything about anything. But I think when it comes to the oil and gas business, he knows more about it than Mr. Stein.

Charles F. Falk

Schaumburg