So what's the deal with oil shale?

Question

I know oil can be extracted from it, and I know the USA is like the Saudi Arabia of oil shale.

But what's the real deal? How feasible is it to get oil from oil shale? What's the cost like? How quickly could we ramp up serious production of oil from oil shale?

Answer 1

In today's world of rising gasoline prices and peaking oil

production, oil shale is an extremely important resource for our energy and national security. It is one of the few domestic energy sources that can reduce dependence on foreign oil supplies.

Our cars, trucks and planes run on liquid fuels made from petroleum,

and the only viable domestic substitutes for these fuels come from oil shale, oil sands, biofuels and coal.

Oil Shale is found in many places in the world but the largest

deposits are found in the United States. The three states of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming contain an amount of shale oil that is comparable with the conventional oil reserves in the Middle East.

Therefore the National Oil Shale Association seeks your support for

a national strategy that encourages the responsible development of oil shale and other unconventional fuels.

Answer 2

It's economically cost effective at this point.

However, the energy policy created by the Congress ever since the Carter Administration has been "do without."

I suggest people in the Northeast U.S. stock up on sweaters before winter.

Answer 3

The deal is that it is so hard to process that it is not worthwhile.  You have to dig up tons of shale, crush it, and cook it to 1000 degrees to get a barrel of petroleum.  In the process, you use up energy equivalent of half a barrel.  Then you still have to refine it.

For the last 30 years oil shale proponents have been saying that if the price of oil goes up just a little more, oil shale will be competitive.  Meantime, the price has gone from $20 to $140, and it is still not enough to make any energy companies go out and start digging up the stuff and making oil.  But don't worry, the price of oil will keep going up, and at some point oil shale will become competitive.

Answer 4

Shale is marine sedimentary rock which sometimes can contain enough organics that with a little bit of heat (~100-150 degrees C) and pressure (don't remember numbers off hand, probably pretty low given the low temp.) oil/gas will form. Unlike sandstone, in shale the grain size is so small the oil/gas can't migrate and form large reservoirs. The hydrocarbons just stay in situ. Thus they are much harder to extract than simply drilling a hole in porous rock and letting the oil flow in.

For oil shale to be economic, oil has to be above about $35 per barrel (not a problem these days!) . Canada has about a trillion barrels of oil in shale and tar sands in the Athabasca region.

The oil is extracted by heating the crushed rock with steam, separating out the oil.

Answer 5

The Democratic Comprehensive Energy Plan To Lower Gasoline Prices

This is how we will do it. And this why we will do it.

This country has so much under used industrial capacity in our

Auto Plants, Airplane Plants, Steel Plants and Electronics Plants to

make America Energy Independent in 2 to 5 years. We can build enough

windmills and solar power and wave generation energy plants to

replace 90% of all of the electricity generated by COAL and NATURAL

GAS and reduce US CO2 emmissions by at least 25%.

For $400 Billion we could build 400,000 windmills and provide

electricity for every home in America .

The Coal and Natural Gas saved by Green Replaceable Elecrrical

Generation can now be used to make fuel for cars, trucks, busses,

boats and airplanes, and or plastics, chemicals, fertilizers and

pharmacuticals.

We need a comprehensive plan that puts America back to work in

endeavors that benefit 99% of America.

Howard Scott Pearlman

and

Tony Mullen

Answer 6

With oil at record price levels, oil shale is an attractive alternative to foreign oil, but it is generally more expensive to get out of the ground, and it is not as environmentally friendly to secure, takes a lot of land, water to separate, and more processing than crude oil.  The US has known about oil shale in the North Dakota, Montana area for 50+ years but until recent changes in techniques to get it out, and the current cost per barrel of oil, it has only now become attractive.  I think you will see more companies leaning toward this option as many currently are, how fast depends on the amount of profit to be made.