History of the oil shale industry
Encyclopedia
The history of the oil shale industry started in ancient times. The modern industrial use of oil shale
for oil extraction dates to the mid-19th century and started growing just before World War I
because of the mass production of automobiles and trucks and the supposed shortage of gasoline for transportation needs. Between the World Wars oil shale projects were begun in several countries.
After World War II, the oil shale industry
declined due to increased accessibility to conventional crude oil
. As of 2010, oil shale was commercially used in Estonia
, China
and Brazil
, while several countries are considering to start or re-start commercial use of oil shale.
of the Iron Age
used to polish and form oil shale into ornaments. Around 3000 BC, "rock oil" was used in Mesopotamia
for road construction and making architectural adhesives.
As a decorative material, oil shale was also used over the Greek
, Roman
, Byzantinian, Umayyad and Abbasid periods to decorate mosaics and floors of the palaces, churches and mosques. Shale oil
was used for medical and military purposes. Mesopotamians used it for medical purposes and for caulking
ships, Mongols
used to cap their arrows with flaming oil shale. In 10th century, the Arabian physician Masawaih al-Mardini
(Mesue the Younger) described a method of extraction of oil from "some kind of bituminous shale".
In the early 14th century, the first use of shale oil was recorded in Switzerland and Austria. In 1350, a knight Berthold von Eberhausen was awarded a right to exploit the Seefeld oil shale in Tyrol. Oil shale was used for production of shale oil using an early retorting method of heating the crushed oil shale put in crucible
s. The healing properties of a mineral oil distilled from oil shale
were noted in 1596 by the personal physician of the Duke of Württemberg Frederick I
.
In Skåne, the Swedish alum shale
dating from the Cambrian
and Ordovician
periods was used for extracting potassium aluminium sulfate
by roasting it over fire as early as 1637. In Italy, shale oil was used to light the streets of Modena
at the turn of the 17th century. The British Crown granted a patent in 1694 to three persons who had "found a way to extract and make great quantities of pitch, tarr, and oyle out of a sort of stone."
Shale oil was produced by extracting Shropshire
oil shale. Later sold as Betton's British Oil, the distilled product was said to have been "tried by divers persons in Aches and Pains with much benefit. In 1781, Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald
, registered a patent for an extraction process to produce tar, pitch and oil from coal and bituminous shales, using masonry retorts and wooden condensers.
The modern industrial use of oil shale for oil extraction started in France, where oil shale commercial mining began in Autun
in 1837. The shale oil production started in 1838 by using Selligue process, invented by Alexander Selligue
. In 1847 the Scottish chemist James Young prepared "lighting oil," lubricating oil and wax from cannel coal
and since 1862 from torbanite
. In 1850 he patented the process of cracking
oil.
Commercial scale shale oil extraction in Scotland started in 1859 by Robert Bell in Broxburn, West Lothian
. About the same time Germany began exploiting its deposits. During the second half of the 19th century shale oil extraction industries were initiated also in Sweden, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. In the United States, the commercial scale shale oil extraction began in 1857 at shale oil retorts retorting the Devonian
oil shale along the Ohio River Valley. In Canada, the Craigleith Shale Oil Works started to retort oil shale of the Ordovician
Whitby Formation near Collingwood, Ontario
, on Lake Huron
, in 1859. However, after crude oil discovery in Pennsylvania
in 1859, the United States and Canadian oil shale industries found it difficult to compete and they were shut down by 1861.
In Australia, the first oil shale mine was commenced in 1865 at American Creek, Mount Kembla
in New South Wales
. At the same year, the first shale oil was produced by the Pioneer Kerosene Works at American Creek. A number of other mines were opened in the areas of the Great Dividing Range
; however, by the turn of the 20th century they were closed because of the importation of cheaper crude oil. In Brazil, oil shale was first exploited in 1884 in Bahia
.
In 1894, the Pumpherston retort
(also known as the Bryson retort) was invented, which is considered as a separation of the oil shale industry from the coal industry. It stayed in use until 1938.
Operations during the 19th century focused on the production of kerosene
, lamp oil, and paraffin
; these products helped supply the growing demand for lighting that arose during the Industrial Revolution
. Fuel oil, lubricating oil and grease, and ammonium sulfate
were also produced.
The oil shale industry expanded immediately before World War I because of limited access to conventional petroleum resources and the mass production of automobiles and trucks, which accompanied an increase in gasoline consumption. The Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves
of the United States was established in 1912. The reserves were seen as a possible emergency source of fuel for the military, particularly the Navy
. In 1915 an oil shale industry was established in Switzerland.
The year 1916 is considered the beginning of the Estonian oil shale industry. In 1917, Russian paleontologist Mikhail Zalessky named kukersite oil shale after the Kukruse settlement. Continuous mining activities started shortly after. Initially, oil shale was used primarily in the cement industry, for firing in locomotive furnaces, and as a household fuel, followed by shale oil and power production. The first experimental oil shale processing retort
s were built in 1921. In 1924, the Tallinn Power Plant was the first power plant in the world to employ oil shale as its primary fuel.
Between the World Wars oil shale projects were begun in Spain, China, Russia and South Africa; they restarted in Brazil and, for a short time, in Canada. In China, the extraction of oil shale began in 1926 under the Japanese rule. The commercial-scale production of shale oil began in 1930 in Fushun, Manchuria
, with the construction of the "Refinery No. 1" operating Fushun-type retorts
. In 1939–1945, a shale oil pilot plant operated in Morocco
.
During World War II
a modified in situ
extraction process was used in Germany by digging tunnels into oil shale deposits and then collapsing their walls into the void volume to ignitate. This process had extremely low oil recovery and it was hard to control. In Sweden, the Swedish Shale Oil Company was formed in 1940. It exploited one of the earliest in-situ processes–underground gasification by electrical energy (Ljungström
method)–between 1940 and 1966 at Kvarntorp
. In 1940–1952, three NTU retorts
were operated at Marangaroo, New South Wales
, Australia
.
) in Dotternhausen
continued using oil shale for cement, power and thermal energy production.
In 1946–1952, Dictyonema
argillite was used for uranium production in Sillamäe
. In Sweden the extraction of alum shale for uranium and vanadium continued until 1989.
After World War II, Estonian-produced oil shale gas
was used in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg
) and in northern Estonia cities as a substitute for natural gas. In 1949, the Kohtla-Järve Power Plant – the first power plant in the world using pulverized oil shale at an industrial scale – was commissioned in Estonia. The world's two largest oil shale-fired power stations – Balti Power Plant and Eesti Power Plant (known as the Narva Power Plants
) – were opened in 1965 and in 1973.
In China, the "Refinery No. 2" of Fushun began its production in 1954 and in 1959, the maximum annual shale oil production increased to 780,000 tonnes. The produced shale oil was used for producing light liquid fuels. In 1961, China was producing one third of its total oil production from oil shale.
The United States Bureau of Mines
opened a demonstration mine at Anvils Point, west of Rifle, Colorado
, which operated at a small scale. In the early 1960s TOSCO (The Oil Shale Corporation)
opened an underground mine and built an experimental plant near Parachute, Colorado
. It was closed in 1972 because the price of production exceeded the cost of imported crude oil.
In 1951, the United States Department of Defense became interested in oil shale as an alternative resource for producing a jet fuel. In 1953, Sinclair Oil Corporation developed an in situ processing method using existing and induced fractures between vertical wells. In the 1960s, a proposal was suggested for a modified in situ process which involved creation of a rubble chimney (a zone in the rock formation created by breaking the rock into fragments) using a nuclear explosive
.
at Logan Wash, Colorado. Due to the 1973 oil crisis
, the oil shale industry restarted in several countries. The United States Navy and the Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves started evaluations of oil shale's suitability for military fuels, such as jet fuels, marine fuels and a heavy fuel oil. Shale-oil based JP-4 jet fuel was produced until the early 1990s, when it was replaced with kerosene-based JP-8. In 1974 the United States Department of the Interior
announced an oil shale leasing program in the oil shale regions of Colorado
and Utah
, and by the early 1980s almost all of the major oil companies had established oil shale pilot projects.
The United States oil shale industry collapsed when oil prices fell in the early 1980s
. On 2 May 1982, known as "Black Sunday", Exxon
canceled its US$5 billion Colony Shale Oil Project
near Parachute, Colorado
because of low oil-prices and increased expenses, laying off more than 2,000 workers and leaving a trail of home-foreclosures and small-business bankruptcies. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan
signed into law the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
which among other things abolished the United States' Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program
. The last oil shale retort in the United States, operated by Unocal Corporation
, closed in 1991.
Because of the success of oil shale-based power generation, Estonian oil shale production peaked in 1980 at 31.35 million tonnes. The largest oil shale mine in the world – the Estonia Mine – was opened in 1972. However, production decreased in Estonia during the 1990s, due to reduced demand from the power generation industry. It was mainly affected by construction of the nuclear power plants in the Soviet Union. Most of Russian oil shale mines were closed in the 1990s and production continued only on a small scale.
In Israel, a 0.1 MW pilot oil shale-fired power plant was tested in 1982–1986. A demonstration fluidised-bed plant became operational in 1989.
technology resumed in Brazil. Estonian oil shale production has continuously increased since 1995. In 2005, China became the largest shale oil producer in the world.
In Australia, a demonstration-scale processing plant at the Stuart Deposit
near Gladstone, Queensland
, produced between 2000 and 2004 over 1.5 Moilbbl of shale oil. In 2008–2009, the facility was dismantled. In the United States, an oil shale development program was initiated in 2003. The Energy Policy Act of 2005
introduced a commercial leasing program for oil shale and tar sands resources on public lands within the states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
In April 2010, the 4th Workshop on Regional Cooperation for Clean Utilization of Oil Shale was held in Egypt and later the same month an Oil Shale Cooperation Center was established in Amman
by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Syria and Turkey.
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
for oil extraction dates to the mid-19th century and started growing just before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
because of the mass production of automobiles and trucks and the supposed shortage of gasoline for transportation needs. Between the World Wars oil shale projects were begun in several countries.
After World War II, the oil shale industry
Oil shale industry
Oil shale industry is an industry of mining and processing of oil shale—a fine-grained sedimentary rock, containing significant amounts of kerogen , from which liquid hydrocarbons can be manufactured. The industry has developed in Brazil, China, Estonia and to some extent in Germany, Israel and...
declined due to increased accessibility to conventional crude oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
. As of 2010, oil shale was commercially used in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, while several countries are considering to start or re-start commercial use of oil shale.
Early history
Humans have used oil shale as a fuel since prehistoric times, since it generally burns without any processing. It was also used for decorative purposes and construction. BritonsBritons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
of the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
used to polish and form oil shale into ornaments. Around 3000 BC, "rock oil" was used in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
for road construction and making architectural adhesives.
As a decorative material, oil shale was also used over the Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Byzantinian, Umayyad and Abbasid periods to decorate mosaics and floors of the palaces, churches and mosques. Shale oil
Shale oil
Shale oil, known also as kerogen oil or oil-shale oil, is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock into synthetic oil and gas...
was used for medical and military purposes. Mesopotamians used it for medical purposes and for caulking
Caulking
Caulking is one of several different processes to seal joints or seams in various structures and certain types of piping. The oldest form of caulking is used to make the seams in wooden boats or ships watertight, by driving fibrous materials into the wedge-shaped seams between planks...
ships, Mongols
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
used to cap their arrows with flaming oil shale. In 10th century, the Arabian physician Masawaih al-Mardini
Masawaih al-Mardini
Masawaih al-Mardini was an Arabian physician. He was born in Mardin, Upper Mesopotamia. After working in Baghdad, he entered to the service of the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. He died in 1015 in Cairo at the age of ninety.Masawaih al-Mardini was a Nestorian Christian...
(Mesue the Younger) described a method of extraction of oil from "some kind of bituminous shale".
In the early 14th century, the first use of shale oil was recorded in Switzerland and Austria. In 1350, a knight Berthold von Eberhausen was awarded a right to exploit the Seefeld oil shale in Tyrol. Oil shale was used for production of shale oil using an early retorting method of heating the crushed oil shale put in crucible
Crucible
A crucible is a container used for metal, glass, and pigment production as well as a number of modern laboratory processes, which can withstand temperatures high enough to melt or otherwise alter its contents...
s. The healing properties of a mineral oil distilled from oil shale
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
were noted in 1596 by the personal physician of the Duke of Württemberg Frederick I
Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg
Friedrich I of Württemberg was the son of Georg of Mömpelgard and his wife Barbara of Hesse, daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse....
.
In Skåne, the Swedish alum shale
Alum shale
Alum shale is a variety of shale or clay slate containing pyrites. Decomposition of pyrite by weathering forms sulfuric acid, which acts on potash and alumina constituents to form alum, often efflorescences on the rock.Alum shale contains kerogen originated from algae...
dating from the Cambrian
Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
and Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
periods was used for extracting potassium aluminium sulfate
Aluminium sulfate
Aluminium sulfate, alternatively spelt aluminum sulfate, aluminium sulphate, or aluminum sulphate; is a chemical compound with the formula Al23...
by roasting it over fire as early as 1637. In Italy, shale oil was used to light the streets of Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
at the turn of the 17th century. The British Crown granted a patent in 1694 to three persons who had "found a way to extract and make great quantities of pitch, tarr, and oyle out of a sort of stone."
Shale oil was produced by extracting Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
oil shale. Later sold as Betton's British Oil, the distilled product was said to have been "tried by divers persons in Aches and Pains with much benefit. In 1781, Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald
Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald
Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald was a Scottish nobleman and inventor. The son of Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald, he joined the British Army as a youth and also served time in the Royal Navy before returning to Culross in 1778 after inheriting the Earldom of Dundonald from his...
, registered a patent for an extraction process to produce tar, pitch and oil from coal and bituminous shales, using masonry retorts and wooden condensers.
Start of the modern industry
Autun
Autun is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in Burgundy in eastern France. It was founded during the early Roman Empire as Augustodunum. Autun marks the easternmost extent of the Umayyad campaign in Europe.-Early history:...
in 1837. The shale oil production started in 1838 by using Selligue process, invented by Alexander Selligue
Alexander Selligue
Alexander François Selligue was a French engineer. In 1832, he together with David Blum patented an application of shale oil for direct illumination. In 1838, he patented "the employment of mineral oils for lighting". His process of distilling bituminous shales was first described in the Journal...
. In 1847 the Scottish chemist James Young prepared "lighting oil," lubricating oil and wax from cannel coal
Cannel coal
Cannel coal, also known as candle coal, is a type of coal, also classified as terrestrial type oil shale, with a large amount of hydrogen, which burns easily with a bright light and leaves little ash....
and since 1862 from torbanite
Torbanite
Torbanite, also known as boghead coal, is a variety of fine-grained black oil shale. It usually occurs as lenticular masses, often associated with deposits of Permian coals. Torbanite is classified as lacustrine type oil shale....
. In 1850 he patented the process of cracking
Cracking (chemistry)
In petroleum geology and chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or heavy hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules such as light hydrocarbons, by the breaking of carbon-carbon bonds in the precursors. The rate of cracking and the end products...
oil.
Commercial scale shale oil extraction in Scotland started in 1859 by Robert Bell in Broxburn, West Lothian
Broxburn, West Lothian
Broxburn is a town in West Lothian, Scotland located west of Edinburgh on the A8 road. It is situated approximately from Edinburgh Airport, and to the north of Livingston....
. About the same time Germany began exploiting its deposits. During the second half of the 19th century shale oil extraction industries were initiated also in Sweden, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. In the United States, the commercial scale shale oil extraction began in 1857 at shale oil retorts retorting the Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
oil shale along the Ohio River Valley. In Canada, the Craigleith Shale Oil Works started to retort oil shale of the Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
Whitby Formation near Collingwood, Ontario
Collingwood, Ontario
Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay.-History:...
, on Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
, in 1859. However, after crude oil discovery in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 1859, the United States and Canadian oil shale industries found it difficult to compete and they were shut down by 1861.
In Australia, the first oil shale mine was commenced in 1865 at American Creek, Mount Kembla
Mount Kembla
Mount Kembla is a mountain in New South Wales, Australia, as well a semi-rural township of Wollongong, which gets its name from the mountain.Kembla is an Aboriginal word meaning "plenty of game"....
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. At the same year, the first shale oil was produced by the Pioneer Kerosene Works at American Creek. A number of other mines were opened in the areas of the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
; however, by the turn of the 20th century they were closed because of the importation of cheaper crude oil. In Brazil, oil shale was first exploited in 1884 in Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
.
In 1894, the Pumpherston retort
Pumpherston retort
The Pumpherston retort was a type of oil-shale retort used in Scotland at the end of 19th and beginning of 20th century. It marked separation of the oil-shale industry from the coal industry as it was designed specifically for oil-shale retorting...
(also known as the Bryson retort) was invented, which is considered as a separation of the oil shale industry from the coal industry. It stayed in use until 1938.
Operations during the 19th century focused on the production of kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
, lamp oil, and paraffin
Paraffin
In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
; these products helped supply the growing demand for lighting that arose during the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. Fuel oil, lubricating oil and grease, and ammonium sulfate
Ammonium sulfate
Ammonium sulfate , 2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen as ammonium cations, and 24% sulfur as sulfate anions...
were also produced.
First half of the 20th century
Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves
The United States Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves is part of the US Department of Energy. It was established in 1912 to monitor and analyse the US's oil shale reserves....
of the United States was established in 1912. The reserves were seen as a possible emergency source of fuel for the military, particularly the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. In 1915 an oil shale industry was established in Switzerland.
The year 1916 is considered the beginning of the Estonian oil shale industry. In 1917, Russian paleontologist Mikhail Zalessky named kukersite oil shale after the Kukruse settlement. Continuous mining activities started shortly after. Initially, oil shale was used primarily in the cement industry, for firing in locomotive furnaces, and as a household fuel, followed by shale oil and power production. The first experimental oil shale processing retort
Retort
In a chemistry laboratory, a retort is a glassware device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances. It consists of a spherical vessel with a long downward-pointing neck. The liquid to be distilled is placed in the vessel and heated...
s were built in 1921. In 1924, the Tallinn Power Plant was the first power plant in the world to employ oil shale as its primary fuel.
Between the World Wars oil shale projects were begun in Spain, China, Russia and South Africa; they restarted in Brazil and, for a short time, in Canada. In China, the extraction of oil shale began in 1926 under the Japanese rule. The commercial-scale production of shale oil began in 1930 in Fushun, Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, with the construction of the "Refinery No. 1" operating Fushun-type retorts
Fushun process
The Fushun process is an above-ground retorting technology for shale oil extraction. It is named after the main production site of Fushun, Liaoning province in northeastern China.-History:...
. In 1939–1945, a shale oil pilot plant operated in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a modified in situ
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
extraction process was used in Germany by digging tunnels into oil shale deposits and then collapsing their walls into the void volume to ignitate. This process had extremely low oil recovery and it was hard to control. In Sweden, the Swedish Shale Oil Company was formed in 1940. It exploited one of the earliest in-situ processes–underground gasification by electrical energy (Ljungström
Fredrik Ljungström
Fredrik Ljungström was a Swedish engineer, technical designer and an industrialist...
method)–between 1940 and 1966 at Kvarntorp
Kumla Municipality
Kumla Municipality is a municipality in Örebro County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Kumla.The present municipality was formed during the latest nation-wide local government reform in Sweden, with the amalgamations taking place in 1966 and 1971.With 207 km² it is the...
. In 1940–1952, three NTU retorts
Nevada–Texas–Utah Retort
The Nevada–Texas–Utah Retort process was an above ground shale oil extraction technology to produce shale oil, a type of synthetic crude oil. It heated oil shale in a sealed vessel causing its decomposition into shale oil, oil shale gas and spent residue...
were operated at Marangaroo, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Geology of Australia
Australia is a continent situated on the Indo-Australian Plate.The geology of Australia includes virtually all known rock types and from all geological time periods spanning over 3.8 billion years of the Earth's history.-Components:...
.
1950s–1960s
Although the Estonian, Russian and Chinese oil shale industries continued to grow after World War II, most other countries abandoned their projects due to high processing costs and the availability of cheaper petroleum. The shale oil extraction in Australia was discontinued in 1952 due to ceasing of government funding, in France in 1957, in Scotland and South Africa in 1962, and in Sweden and Spain in 1966. In Germany only Rohrbach Zement (now part of HolcimHolcim
Holcim is a Swiss-based global company supplying cement and aggregates . The company also supplies ready-mix concrete and asphalt including associated construction services.-Holcim Group:...
) in Dotternhausen
Dotternhausen
Dotternhausen is a town in the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
continued using oil shale for cement, power and thermal energy production.
In 1946–1952, Dictyonema
Basidiolichen
Basidiolichens are lichenized members of the Basidiomycota, a much smaller group of lichens than the far more common ascolichens in the Ascomycota. In arctic, alpine, and temperate forests, the most common basidiolichens are in the agaric genus Lichenomphalia and the clavarioid genus Multiclavula...
argillite was used for uranium production in Sillamäe
Sillamäe
Sillamäe is a town in Ida-Viru County in the northern part of Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. It has a population of 16,183 and covers an area of 10.54 km²...
. In Sweden the extraction of alum shale for uranium and vanadium continued until 1989.
After World War II, Estonian-produced oil shale gas
Oil shale gas
Oil shale gas is a synthetic gas mixture produced by oil shale pyrolysis. Although often referred to as shale gas, it differs from the natural gas produced from shale, which is also known as shale gas.-Process:...
was used in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
) and in northern Estonia cities as a substitute for natural gas. In 1949, the Kohtla-Järve Power Plant – the first power plant in the world using pulverized oil shale at an industrial scale – was commissioned in Estonia. The world's two largest oil shale-fired power stations – Balti Power Plant and Eesti Power Plant (known as the Narva Power Plants
Narva Power Plants
The Narva Power Plants are a power generation complex in Narva in Estonia, near the border with Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The complex consists of the world's two largest oil shale-fired thermal power plants, Eesti Power Plant and Balti Power Plant . In 2007, Narva Power Plants generated about...
) – were opened in 1965 and in 1973.
In China, the "Refinery No. 2" of Fushun began its production in 1954 and in 1959, the maximum annual shale oil production increased to 780,000 tonnes. The produced shale oil was used for producing light liquid fuels. In 1961, China was producing one third of its total oil production from oil shale.
The United States Bureau of Mines
United States Bureau of Mines
For most of the 20th century, the U.S. Bureau of Mines was the primary United States Government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral resources.- Summary :...
opened a demonstration mine at Anvils Point, west of Rifle, Colorado
Rifle, Colorado
The City of Rifle is a Home Rule Municipality in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 6,769 at the 2000 census. Rifle is a regional center of the cattle ranching industry located along Interstate 70 and the Colorado River just east of the Roan Cliffs, which dominate the...
, which operated at a small scale. In the early 1960s TOSCO (The Oil Shale Corporation)
Tosco Corporation
Tosco was an independent US based petroleum refining and marketing corporation. It was founded in 1955 in Santa Monica, California by A&P heir Huntington Hartford, and originally focused on extracting oil from oil shale and developing alternative energy sources.-Oil shale operations:In 1964...
opened an underground mine and built an experimental plant near Parachute, Colorado
Parachute, Colorado
The Town of Parachute is a Statutory Town in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,006 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Parachute is located at ....
. It was closed in 1972 because the price of production exceeded the cost of imported crude oil.
In 1951, the United States Department of Defense became interested in oil shale as an alternative resource for producing a jet fuel. In 1953, Sinclair Oil Corporation developed an in situ processing method using existing and induced fractures between vertical wells. In the 1960s, a proposal was suggested for a modified in situ process which involved creation of a rubble chimney (a zone in the rock formation created by breaking the rock into fragments) using a nuclear explosive
Nuclear explosive
A nuclear explosive is an explosive device that derives its energy from nuclear reactions. Almost all nuclear explosive devices that have been designed and produced are nuclear weapons intended for warfare....
.
1970s–1980s
In 1972, the first modified in situ oil shale experiment in the United States was conducted by Occidental PetroleumOccidental Petroleum
Occidental Petroleum Corporation is a California-based oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America...
at Logan Wash, Colorado. Due to the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
, the oil shale industry restarted in several countries. The United States Navy and the Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves started evaluations of oil shale's suitability for military fuels, such as jet fuels, marine fuels and a heavy fuel oil. Shale-oil based JP-4 jet fuel was produced until the early 1990s, when it was replaced with kerosene-based JP-8. In 1974 the United States Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
announced an oil shale leasing program in the oil shale regions of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, and by the early 1980s almost all of the major oil companies had established oil shale pilot projects.
The United States oil shale industry collapsed when oil prices fell in the early 1980s
1980s oil glut
The 1980s oil glut was a serious surplus of crude oil caused by falling demand following the 1970s Energy Crisis. The world price of oil, which had peaked in 1980 at over US$35 per barrel , fell in 1986 from $27 to below $10...
. On 2 May 1982, known as "Black Sunday", Exxon
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
canceled its US$5 billion Colony Shale Oil Project
Colony Shale Oil Project
Colony Shale Oil Project was an oil shale development project at the Piceance Basin near Parachute Creek, Colorado. The project consisted of an oil shale mine and pilot-scale shale oil plant, which used the TOSCO II retorting technology, developed by Tosco Corporation...
near Parachute, Colorado
Parachute, Colorado
The Town of Parachute is a Statutory Town in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,006 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Parachute is located at ....
because of low oil-prices and increased expenses, laying off more than 2,000 workers and leaving a trail of home-foreclosures and small-business bankruptcies. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
signed into law the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 is a law passed by the U.S. Congress on a reconciliation basis and signed by President Reagan that, among other things, mandates an insurance program giving some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after leaving...
which among other things abolished the United States' Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program
Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program
The Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program was a program run by the United States Bureau of Mines to create the technology to produce synthetic fuel from coal. It was initiated in 1944 during World War II...
. The last oil shale retort in the United States, operated by Unocal Corporation
Unocal Corporation
Union Oil Company of California, dba Unocal is a defunct company that was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headquartered in El Segundo, California, United States.On August 10, 2005, Unocal merged...
, closed in 1991.
Because of the success of oil shale-based power generation, Estonian oil shale production peaked in 1980 at 31.35 million tonnes. The largest oil shale mine in the world – the Estonia Mine – was opened in 1972. However, production decreased in Estonia during the 1990s, due to reduced demand from the power generation industry. It was mainly affected by construction of the nuclear power plants in the Soviet Union. Most of Russian oil shale mines were closed in the 1990s and production continued only on a small scale.
In Israel, a 0.1 MW pilot oil shale-fired power plant was tested in 1982–1986. A demonstration fluidised-bed plant became operational in 1989.
Latest developments
The global oil shale industry started to grow slightly in the mid-1990s. In 1992 commercial shale oil production using PetrosixPetrosix
Petrosix is currently the world’s largest surface oil shale pyrolysis retort with an diameter vertical shaft kiln, operational since 1992. It is located in São Mateus do Sul, Brazil, and it is owned and operated by the Brazil energy company Petrobras. Petrosix means also the Petrosix process, an...
technology resumed in Brazil. Estonian oil shale production has continuously increased since 1995. In 2005, China became the largest shale oil producer in the world.
In Australia, a demonstration-scale processing plant at the Stuart Deposit
Stuart Oil Shale Project
The Stuart Oil Shale Project was an oil shale development project in Australia near Gladstone, Queensland. It was Australia's first major attempt since the 1950s to restart commercial use of oil shale...
near Gladstone, Queensland
Gladstone, Queensland
- Education :Gladstone has several primary schools, three high schools, and one university campus, Central Queensland University. It is also home to CQIT Gladstone Campus.- Recreation :...
, produced between 2000 and 2004 over 1.5 Moilbbl of shale oil. In 2008–2009, the facility was dismantled. In the United States, an oil shale development program was initiated in 2003. The Energy Policy Act of 2005
Energy Policy Act of 2005
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a bill passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico...
introduced a commercial leasing program for oil shale and tar sands resources on public lands within the states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
In April 2010, the 4th Workshop on Regional Cooperation for Clean Utilization of Oil Shale was held in Egypt and later the same month an Oil Shale Cooperation Center was established in Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Syria and Turkey.