Oil Shale Exploration Company
Encyclopedia
Enefit American Oil is a Utah
based oil shale
exploration and development company. It has been involved in the development of oil shale since 2005. Since 2011, it is a subsidiary of Eesti Energia
.
In March 2011, it was announced that Estonia
n energy company Eesti Energia will acquire 100% of OSEC's shares. On 15 March 2011 the transaction was approved by Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States
.
in Utah, containing more than 3 Goilbbl of shale oil
. It also lease from the United States Bureau of Land Management
the abandoned White River Oil Shale Mine 45 miles (72.4 km) southeast of Vernal, Utah
. The White River Mine was developed by the White River Shale Corporation in the early 1980s. In 1986, after termination of operations, the mine and surface facilities were turned over to the Bureau of Land Management. Enefit American Oil intends to reopen the mine to supply oil shale for testing, development, and operation of a surface-based 50000 oilbbl/d RD&D oil shale retort facility.
(ATP). To use the ATP retort technology, OSEC entered into a license agreement with AECOM
, then owner of the ATP proprietary information. However, on 9 June 2008, OSEC announced it had signed an agreement with Petrobras and Mitsui according to which Petrobras agreed to undertake a technical, economic and environmental commercial feasibility study of Petrosix
shale oil extraction technology for oil shale owned or leased by OSEC in Utah. Few results of the study were disclosed. After acquiring 100% of OSEC shares in March 2011, Eesti Energia announced it would conduct a new commercial study using its Enefit Process.
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...
based 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...
exploration and development company. It has been involved in the development of oil shale since 2005. Since 2011, it is a subsidiary of Eesti Energia
Eesti Energia
Eesti Energia AS is a state-owned energy company in Estonia with its headquarters in Tallinn. The company operates in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Jordan. In Estonia the company operates under the name Eesti Energia, while using the brand name Enefit for international operations...
.
History
OSEC was formed as a limited liability company by following companies:- L&R Energy, Inc.
- Twin Pines Coal Company
- Shale Investments, LLC In 2008, OSEC concluded a contract with Brazilian oil company PetrobrasPetrobrasPetróleo Brasileiro or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in Latin America by market capitalization and revenue, and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere by market...
and Japanese investment and trading company MitsuiMitsuiis one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...
according to which Petrobras and Misui had a right to acquire 10%-20% interests each in an oil shale joint venture with OSEC.
In March 2011, it was announced that 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...
n energy company Eesti Energia will acquire 100% of OSEC's shares. On 15 March 2011 the transaction was approved by Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is an inter-agency committee of the United States Government that reviews the national security implications of foreign investments in U.S. companies or operations. Chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, CFIUS includes representatives...
.
Operations
Enefit American Oil owns or leases more than 30000 acres (121.4 km²) of oil shale property in the Green River BasinGreen River (Utah)
The Green River, located in the western United States, is the chief tributary of the Colorado River. The watershed of the river, known as the Green River Basin, covers parts of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The Green River is long, beginning in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and flowing...
in Utah, containing more than 3 Goilbbl of 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...
. It also lease from the United States Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
the abandoned White River Oil Shale Mine 45 miles (72.4 km) southeast of Vernal, Utah
Vernal, Utah
Vernal, Uintah County's largest city, is located in eastern Utah near the Colorado State Line, and 175 miles east of Salt Lake City. It is bordered on the north by the Uinta Mountains, one of the few mountains ranges in the world which lie in an east-west rather than the usual north to south...
. The White River Mine was developed by the White River Shale Corporation in the early 1980s. In 1986, after termination of operations, the mine and surface facilities were turned over to the Bureau of Land Management. Enefit American Oil intends to reopen the mine to supply oil shale for testing, development, and operation of a surface-based 50000 oilbbl/d RD&D oil shale retort facility.
Technology
Originally OSEC planned to use the Alberta Taciuk ProcessAlberta Taciuk Process
The Alberta Taciuk process is an above-ground dry thermal retorting technology for extracting oil from oil sands, oil shale and other organics-bearing materials, including oil contaminated soils, sludges and wastes...
(ATP). To use the ATP retort technology, OSEC entered into a license agreement with AECOM
AECOM
AECOM Technology Corporation is a professional technical and management support services firm. The company is ranked as the number one design firm for 2010 and 2011 by Engineering News-Record and number one by Architectural Record. It provides services in the areas of transportation, planning,...
, then owner of the ATP proprietary information. However, on 9 June 2008, OSEC announced it had signed an agreement with Petrobras and Mitsui according to which Petrobras agreed to undertake a technical, economic and environmental commercial feasibility study of Petrosix
Petrosix
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...
shale oil extraction technology for oil shale owned or leased by OSEC in Utah. Few results of the study were disclosed. After acquiring 100% of OSEC shares in March 2011, Eesti Energia announced it would conduct a new commercial study using its Enefit Process.