Now, the difference with the Valdez -- the Valdez was a knowable quantity of oil because it was a ship.

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The quantity of oil you can find in the first place, and then extract, is entirely a function of technology.

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Iraq's oil quietly flows in quantity again.

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At that time, a small quantity of US shale oil was being unlocked by mining the rock out of the ground, trucking it to centralized plants, and heating the rock to release the hydrocarbons.

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In the oil business, for example, Ceradyne is working to have its ceramics used to squeeze hydrocarbons from oil sands and tar, such those found in great quantity in Western Canada.

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