This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Rising oil prices and concerns over declining petroleum production worldwide revived U.S. interest in oil shale after a two-decade hiatus. In addition to technological challenges left unsolved from previous development efforts, environmental issues remained and new issues have emerged. Challenges to development also include competition with conventional petroleum production in the mid-continent region, and increasing petroleum imports from Canada. Contents of this report: Background; Oil Shale Resource Potential; Challenges to Development; Commercial Leasing Program; R&D Program; Programmatic Environ. Impact Statement; Mineral Leasing Act Amendments; Commercial Lease Sale and Royalty Rates. Illus.

In the early 1980s, industry and government took a hard look at the economics of extracting oil from vast deposits of shale that lie beneath the western United States. Oil prices subsided, and interest waned. With oil prices spiking and global demand showing no signs of abating, reexamining the economics of oil shale makes sense. In this report, the authors describe oil shale resources; suitability, cost, and performance of new technologies; and key policy issues that need to be addressed by government decisionmakers in the near future.

Federal interest in oil shale dates back to the early 20th century, when the Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves were set aside. Commercial interest followed during the 1960s. After a second oil embargo in the 1970s, Congress created a synthetic fuels program to stimulate large-scale commercial development of oil shale. Commercially backed oil shale projects ended in the early 1980s when oil prices began declining. High oil prices have revived the interest in oil shale. Contents of this report: Intro.; Geology and Production Technology of Oil Shale; History of Oil Shale Development; Incentives and Disincentives to Development; Policy Perspectives; Legislative History to 2006. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.

Oil Shale

The Green River oil shale formation in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming is estimated to hold the equivalent of 1.38 trillion barrels of oil equivalent in place. The shale is generally acknowledged as a rich potential resource; however, it has not generally proved to be economically recoverable. Thus, it is considered to be a contingent resource and not a true reserve. Also, the finished products that can be produced from oil shale are limited in range to primarily diesel and jet fuel. Earlier attempts to develop oil shale under the 1970s era Department of Energy (DOE) Synthetic Fuels program and the later Synthetic Fuels Corporation loan guarantees ended after the rapid decline of oil prices and development of new oil fields outside the Middle East. Improvements taking place at the time in conventional refining enabled increased production of transportation fuels over heavy heating oils (which were being phased out in favor of natural gas). Rising oil prices and concerns over declining petroleum production worldwide revived United States interest in oil shale after a two-decade hiatus. In addition to technological challenges left unsolved from previous development efforts, environmental issues remained and new issues have emerged. Estimates of the ultimately recoverable resource also vary. Challenges to development also include competition with conventional petroleum production in the mid-continent region, and increasing petroleum imports from Canada. The region's isolation from major refining centers in the Gulf Coast may leave production stranded if pipeline capacity is not increased.

Natural gas and crude oil production from hydrocarbon rich deep shale formations is one of the most quickly expanding trends in domestic oil and gas exploration. Vast new natural gas and oil resources are being discovered every year across North America and one of those new resources comes from the development of deep shale formations, typically located many thousands of feet below the surface of the Earth in tight, low permeability formations. Deep Shale Oil and Gas provides an introduction to shale gas resources as well as offer a basic understanding of the geomechanical properties of shale, the need for hydraulic fracturing, and an indication of shale gas processing. The book also examines the issues regarding the nature of shale gas development, the potential environmental impacts, and the ability of the current regulatory structure to deal with these issues. Deep Shale Oil and Gas delivers a useful reference that today's petroleum and natural gas engineer can use to make informed decisions about meeting and managing the challenges they may face in the development of these resources. - Clarifies all the basic information needed to quickly understand today's deeper shale oil and gas industry, horizontal drilling, fracture fluids chemicals needed, and completions - Addresses critical coverage on water treatment in shale, and important and evolving technology - Practical handbook with real-world case shale plays discussed, especially the up-and-coming deeper areas of shale development

Discusses possibility of large oil company monopolization of oil shale development in the Rocky Mountains.

Discusses possibility of large oil company monopolization of oil shale development in the Rocky Mountains.