The U.S. government slashed its estimate of how much crude oil could be extracted from California’s Monterey Shale, confirming widespread industry suspicion that developing the massive resource would be difficult. The Energy Information Administration said there are 600 million barrels of technically recoverable oil, down 96% from its of 13.7 billion barrels. Officials said that while they still believed that there is an enormous oil deposit in the shale, which is beneath a 1,750-square-mile portion of central and southern California, the crude can’t be tapped with existing technology and at existing prices. “The rocks are still there,” EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said Wednesday. “The technology’s not there yet.” The agency, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, said it lowered its estimate based on new geologic information and the lack of production growth. The oil industry nevertheless will likely continue trying to develop new techniques and technology to tap […]