Commercial Oil Shale Research Articles

Archibald Geikie's role in the establishment of the Scottish oil shale industry

Abstract Archibald Geikie played a fundamental, but largely unrecognized, role in the establishment of the Scottish oil shale industry by providing James ‘Paraffin’ Young with the critical information about the location, thickness and probable geographical extent of organic-rich shales during their field visit in 1858. Young subsequently used the observations to determine where to buy leases for commercial oil shale extraction and production before any competitors emerged. Geikie acquired his critical knowledge of the area whilst preparing the first map and memoir of the Edinburgh area published in 1859 and 1861, respectively. In 1866, Young's Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company Limited opened the Addiewell works, the largest oil shale works in the world at the time. By the late 1860s, there were over 120 works distilling oil in Scotland, mostly from the shales of the Lothians. Eventually, more than 22 million gallons of crude oil a year were produced in the Midland Valley in an industry that employed c. 40 000 people. Although the Scottish oil shale industry eventually closed in the 1960s, Geikie's legacy lives on through a better understanding of the geology of the Midland Valley and the renewed interest in extracting oil and gas from the shales buried beneath.

Thermo-swelling behavior of Kukersite oil shale

The volumetric change (thermal expansion or thermo-swelling) of Kukersite oil shale, which contains thermo-softening organic matter, was measured up to 1,000 °C using a spring loaded linear velocity displacement transducer under inert pyrolysis conditions. The research was focused on examining the thermal swelling taking place in the thermoplastic stage of pyrolysis. A heating rate of 10 °C min−1 was applied to evaluate general trends of volumetric change. The materials studied were commercial grade oil shale with 30 mass/% of organic matter content (oil shale with about 190 L t−1 oil yield) and concentrated kerogen with 88 mass/% of organic matter content (or about 600 L t−1 oil yield). The concentrated kerogen has an organic content similar to that of many coals. The present study indicates that during pyrolysis under retorting conditions, the organic matter of Kukersite oil shale itself can, in principal, exhibit short-term thermal swelling (or dilatation) that accompanies extensive volatiles evolution. However, in the case of the commercial grade oil shale, this phenomenon was not observed due to the low organic matter content of this oil shale.

SURFACE MINING TECHNOLOGY IN THE ZONES OF TECTONIC DISTURBANCES, ESTONIAN OIL SHALE DEPOSIT

The 150-300 m thick Ediacaran-Devonian sedimentary cover of Estonia, which contains the commercial oil shale deposit, is divided into blocks by linear fracture and tectonic disturbance zones. Along these zones the bedrock is modified, its composition and strength parameters are changed. Often there are restrictions on the use of new surface-mining areas as local people oppose excavation activities near their homes. Indirect methods were used for determination of the uniaxial compressive strength of rock. A wide variety of rock structures were considered and different excavation methods studied. Feasible mining technologies near the zones of tectonic disturbances have been proposed.

Policy Analysis of Produced Water Issues Associated with In-Situ Thermal Technologies

Commercial scale oil shale and oil sands development will require water, the amount of which will depend on the technologies adopted and the scale of development that occurs. Water in oil shale and oil sands country is already in scarce supply, and because of the arid nature of the region and limitations on water consumption imposed by interstate compacts and the Endangered Species Act, the State of Utah normally does not issue new water rights in oil shale or oil sands rich areas. Prospective oil shale and oil sands developers that do not already hold adequate water rights can acquire water rights from willing sellers, but large and secure water supplies may be difficult and expensive to acquire, driving oil shale and oil sands developers to seek alternative sources of supply. Produced water is one such potential source of supply. When oil and gas are developed, operators often encounter ground water that must be removed and disposed of to facilitate hydrocarbon extraction. Water produced through mineral extraction was traditionally poor in quality and treated as a waste product rather than a valuable resource. However, the increase in produced water volume and the often-higher quality water associated with coalbed methane development have drawn attention to potential uses of produced water and its treatment under appropriations law. This growing interest in produced water has led to litigation and statutory changes that must be understood and evaluated if produced water is to be harnessed in the oil shale and oil sands development process. Conversely, if water is generated as a byproduct of oil shale and oil sands production, consideration must be given to how this water will be disposed of or utilized in the shale oil production process. This report explores the role produced water could play in commercial oil shale and oil sands production, explaining the evolving regulatory framework associated with produced water, Utah water law and produced water regulation, and the obstacles that must be overcome in order for produced water to support the nascent oil shale and oil sands industries.

Water for Commercial Oil Shale Development in Utah: Clarifying How Much Water is Needed and Available

Utah contains an estimated 150 billion barrels of ‘recoverable’ oil trapped in its extensive oil shale formations – enough oil single-handedly to satisfy 100 per cent of the United States’ oil demand for 21 years at current consumption rates. Most authorities assume that commercial oil shale development will require significant quantities of water, a constraining resource in a region that receives, on average, less than nine inches of precipitation annually and where water resources are already over-appropriated. The technical water requirements of commercial oil shale development are poorly understood, but this represents only part of the problem. Utah operates under the prior appropriations system of water allocation whereby the first in time is the first in right. Unanswered legal and political questions create uncertainty regarding the amount of available water within the most geologically prospective area and the rights of competing water appropriators. This article addresses two foundational questions: (1) apportionment of the only major surface water source within the most geologically prospective area between competing users in Colorado and Utah; and (2) the terms and extent of Indian reserved rights.

INFLUENCE OF THE BEDROCK TOPOGRAPHY ON OIL SHALE MINING IN NORTH-EAST ESTONIA

According to the zonation of the Estonian bedrock topography, presented on the basis of relative and absolute heights and taking into consideration the lithological composition of the bedrock, Estonian oil shale deposit is located in the Viru-Harju Plateau including the Pandivere Elevation and Ahtme Eminence. The plateau has a thin Quaternary cover, mainly a few metres in thickness. The oil shale basin is dissected by linear structures and ancient buried valleys, which complicate oil shale mining. The buried valleys are eroded into the commercial oil shale beds and serve as natural boundaries between mining and exploration fields. Ancient buried valleys were mainly formed in the Late Paleogene when the Earth’s crust was much higher than at present due to the riftogenesis in the North-Atlantic region. They were overdeepened in the Pleistocene by glaciers. Probably, some valleys are glacial in origin. There are seven bigger valleys (Loobu, Haljala, Selja, Kunda, Pada, Purtse and Vasavere) located in the study area. The valleys contain big reserves of building sand and gravel, and high-quality underground water. Tectonic features, human impact and karst phenomena play an essential role in the formation of the chemical composition of water, especially at local and regional scales.

Peaking of World Oil Production and Its Mitigation

Publisher Summary The world has never faced a problem like the peaking of oil. Previous energy transitions—such as wood to coal or coal to oil—were gradual and evolutionary; oil peaking will be abrupt and revolutionary. Satisfying the increasing oil demand not only requires continuing to produce older oil fields with their declining production but also requires finding new ones, capable of producing sufficient quantities of oil to both compensate for the shrinking production from older fields and provide the increase demanded by the market. A number of options exist that can be applied to lessen oil dependence and reduce economic vulnerability to oil price increases. They include reduction in energy demand, methods to increase oil production, and the introduction of alternative fuels that can substitute for oil in key market applications. The implementation of mitigation strategies will require an intense effort over decades. There are a number of factors that could conceivably impact the peaking of world oil production. Among the upsides, or factors that might ease the problems of world oil peaking, is the possibility that the pessimists are wrong again and peaking does not occur for many decades. Alternatively, Middle East oil reserves turn out to be much larger than publicly stated or a number of new super-giant oil fields are found and brought into production well before oil peaking occurs.

Oil shale mining and processing impact on landscapes in north-east Estonia

As the world's largest commercial oil shale reserve, the Estonian Oil Shale Deposit has been exploited since 1916. As a result of mining, storing of solid wastes from the oil shale separation, combustion in the power plants and its thermal processing, the landscape in northeastern Estonia has been essentially changed and the man-made landforms have developed: the new microreliefs of natural and artificial structure are formed, as well as `mountainous' and hilly reliefs in the form of waste heaps, ash plateaus, coke-ash dumps etc. Deformed (stable) and undeformed (unstable) areas from underground mining currently cover about 220 km 2. About 90 km 2 (80%) of the area damaged by open pits are recultivated and reformed as forested and agricultural (grassland) areas. The total area occupied by solid waste has reached up to 26 km 2. New technogenic landscape units, i.e. made by technical means, will essentially influence the environment.

Oil Shale Perspectives: ABSTRACT

The worldwide oil shale resources are extremely large. As an example, the calculated recoverable oil from just the Green River Formation in the tri-state area of Colorado-Utah-Wyoming is as large as the estimated ultimate total conventional oil production from the entire world. In addition there are significant resources in other parts of the USA and in other countries. Despite the great potential, the pace of western oil shale development took a general downturn in 1982 because of a combination of factors led by an uncertainty concerning short to intermediate term pricing for crude oil, a lesser demand for petroleum products, and increased projected costs for development. An example is Exxon's announcement that the Exxon/TOSCO multi-billion dollar project would be discontinued and most of its support equipment sold. Other western developers that are progressing with their projects include Union Oil of California in the Piceance basin of Colorado and Geokinetics Inc. of the Uinta basin of Utah. In the eastern part of the county, Paraho decided not to move its project to Kentucky unless additional financial support could be obtained. On the international front, Brazil and Morocco are actively developing oil shales in their countries, and feasibility and background studies are being conducted in other areas of the world. The industry, from a future commercial development standpoint, and the government, following its policy to promote high-risk, long-range, high-return energy projects, should accelerate their efforts in oil shale research and development. A lead time of 3 to 5 years is necessary from the planning stage to the first barrel of shale oil production. Using a 10,000 bbl/day plant as a minimum goal, modular development of several competing processes and technologies should be conducted in the near future. These plants should be modular in nature, so that the more favorable processes could be replicated to provide for future demand. The U.S. Department of Energy current oil shale support efforts are pointed toward process technology research rather than monetary support of industry pilot projects. Federal government support for commercial oil shale development is a function of the Synthetic Fuels Corporation which provides price support guarantees to companies who are willing to build plants which can produce a minimum of 10,000 bbl/day of shale oil. End_of_Article - Last_Page 496------------

AIR OXIDATION OF EASTERN OIL SHALES OF KENTUCKY. I. OXYGEN UPTAKE

ABSTRACT The Devonian oil shale of Kentucky (Cleveland Member of the Ohio Shale) proves to be more susceptible to air oxidation than a high sulfur coal such as Western Kentucky No. 9, and much more susceptible than the Eocene Green River Formation shale of Colorado. The Mississippian oil shale (Sunbury Shale) is also readily air oxidized. Oxygen uptake per 100-grams organic carbon content over 10 hours at 30∗C taken from plots of oxygen uptake vs. time is as follows: Ohio Shale, 650 cc; Sunbury Shale, 200 cc; Green River Formation shale, 50 cc; Ky No. 9 coal, 40 cc. Special care in protecting samples from autoxidaion is required if good assays and analyses are to be obtained. The aging chacacteristics of eastern oil shales could potentially affect mining, transportation, crushing, screening, and stockpiling of feedstocks, particularly fines, for a commercial oil shale operation in Kentucky.

Chronic effects of ammonia-stripped oil shale retort water on fishes, birds, and mammals

Commercial oil shale development of the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming will probably take place within the next decade. Equal volumes of oil and retort water are expected to be produced using in situ oil shale processing. Research has been done on the acute toxicity of retort water to fish and mammals. The acute effect on fish is gill hyperplasia, primarily from the irritating effect of ammonia. Retort water did not appear toxic to dogs, rats, or guinea pigs under the acute test conditions imposed. No research has been done on the long-term chronic effect of retort water on any of these animals. A variety of schemes has been proposed for the treatment of retort water, most of which involve the removal of ammonia. This study was an attempt to find the effects of chronic low-level exposure of fish and wildlife to partially treated oil shale retort water.

Oil Shale: The Prospects and Problems of an Emerging Energy Industry

Technological, economic, environmental, and institutional issues relating to the development of a commercial oil shale industry are reviewed. It is concluded that a commercial shale oil industry is feasible from a resource and technology perspective. Although there are unanswered questions about water supplies and the environmental impact of a developing shale oil industry, the chief uncertainty is economic. The outlook for prompt and sizable production of shale oil is uncertain in the absence of Federal intervention. 47 references. (JGB)

Current Status of Oil Shale Development in United States: ABSTRACT

There is no commercial oil shale development in the United States today despite extensive and well known deposits and periodic flurries of interest. In the current energy situation the oil shales of the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are attracting a great deal of interest as a possible secure domestic source of synthetic crude oil. High grade oil shale deposits containing a potential 600 billion bbl of shale oil occur in an 11-million-acre area of the three states. The tempo of predevelopment activity has accelerated during the last year and the prospects for a domestic shale oil industry in the foreseeable future appear good. Four private industrial groups recently have announced tentative plans for development of private oil shale lands in Colorado. The Colony Development group has operated a semi-works scale facility north of Grand Valley, Colorado, at 1,000 tons per day with room and pillar underground mining techniques and a surface retort using the TOSCO II system. Union Oil Company has done prior experimental mining and retorting on their lands which adjoin the Colony property. Superior Oil Company has announced their intention to explore the lower oil shale zones by an inclined shaft to determine the feasibility of a multi-mineral development producing nahcolite and dawsonite as well as shale oil in the northern part of the Piceance basin. Occidental Petroleum Company has successfully operated an ex erimental in-situ retorting process north of DeBeque, Colorado. A group of 16 companies has joined in a 30-month program to develop and test a new retorting system. The United States Department of Interior has been involved in research and investigation of the Green River oil shales and the technology for their development for many years. It has now initiated a prototype program of leasing for development by private End_Page 905------------------------------ industry of a small part of the approximately 80% of the oil shale resources which are Federally owned. Four years of study and planning and the completion of a six-volume Environmental Impact Statement have preceded this action. If this program is successful the production from the six Federal leases combined with production from private lands could reach an estimated 400,000 bbl per day by the early 1980s and one million bbl per day before the close of that decade. The first lease offering under the prototype program of a single 5,100-acre tract in northwestern Colorado was on January 8, 1974. Eight offers were received with a high bid of $210,305,600 submitted by a combination of Standard Oil Company of Indiana and the Gulf Oil Corporation. This appears to be the highest per acre bid ever received by the Federal government for the leasing of any mineral deposit. The total of all bonus bids received was $641,126,463.09. End_of_Article - Last_Page 906------------