Technology Experience and Economics of Oil Shale Mining in Estonia

Abstract

Abstract The exhaustion of fuel-energy resources became an evident problem of the European continent in the 1960s. Careful utilization of their own reserves of coal, oil, and gas (Germany, France, Spain) and assigned shares of imports of these resources make up the strategy of economic development of the European countries. The expansion of oil shale utilization is the most topical problem. The experience of mining oil shale deposits in Estonia and Russia, in terms of the practice and the economic results, is reviewed in this article. The room-and-pillar method of underground mining and the open-cut technology of clearing the ground ensure the fertility of a soil. The economics of underground and open pit oil shale mines is analyzed in terms of natural, organizational, and technical factors. These analyses are used in the planning and management of oil shale mining enterprises. The perspectives of the oil shale mining industry of Estonia and the economic expediency of multiproduction are examined. Recommendations and guidelines for future industrial utilization of oil shale arc given in the summary.