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What’s going on with oil from shale? Is it economically feasible?
May 14, 2009 · Filed Under Earth Sciences & Geology
greydoc6 asked:
During the oil crisis in the 1970s it was claimed that the US had a vast reserve of oil in shale, but that it was too expensive to recover. Thirty plus years later, oil is close to $100 a barrel, but I don’t hear anyone talking about oil from shale.
During the oil crisis in the 1970s it was claimed that the US had a vast reserve of oil in shale, but that it was too expensive to recover. Thirty plus years later, oil is close to $100 a barrel, but I don’t hear anyone talking about oil from shale.
Yes, I’m for conservation and reducing our need for fossil fuel, but shale oil could possibly reverse our balance of trade deficit, decrease our involvement in the Middle East, and provide us with oil while we hopefully are intelligent enough to look for cleaner energy sources.
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3 Responses to “What’s going on with oil from shale? Is it economically feasible?”
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economic feasibility of oil shale per se is one thing . but i think what matters is Relative to traditionalal refining of liquid hydrocarbon, it is still at a disadvantage.
by all means we can get positive return of energy on extracting and refining from shale sources… it just wont make as much money.
and who nowadays operate purely on ethical impetus
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In Economic Geology there is the concept of a resource and a reserve. At times there is a thin line between the two; economic viability. Shale, as a rock, is the initial source of petroleum, but due to lack of permeability is confined to Resource Status till economic conditions make it viable to extract (maybe $200 a barrel). Add to that the environmental damage done by processing millions of cubic meters of shale and price becomes untenable with today’s technology. Perhaps the best short-term solution is to conserve (which is a four-letter to the current administration in Washington, DC), and to improve the efficiency of today’s hungry energy using machinery.
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There are HUGE reserves of oil shale, especially in Colorado. The infrastructure was in the process of being developed in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The collapse of oil prices in the 80’s made shale oil prices too high to compete with conventionally obtained oil. Shale oil production was virtually abandoned, along with a lot of domestic oil production.
However, at todays oil prices, oil extraction from shale is again economically feasible.
However, the tremendous cost of building the infrastructure to process shale is the main deterrent. Billions of dollars would have to be invested to process the oil out of the shale. With the threat of a possible collapse in oil pricing, investors are reluctant to pour money into shale oil production.
Several oil companies are in the process of developing and redeveloping techniques to reduce extraction costs. But like anything, it takes time to develop effective, efficient processes.
Besides shale oil, coal liquification (i.e., Fischer-Tropsch) is a feasible means for U.S. petroleum needs. The U.S. has huge amounts of coal, why shouldn’t we pay ourselves for petroleum?
And then there is ANWR… Don’t want to open a can of worms, but it is a huge reserve. I would rather my money go to pay Alaskans for royalties than foreigners…Plus, additions to the Alaska Pipeline to increase capacity wouldn’t affect the wildlife any more than the current pipeline and would provide jobs. I have been to the Alaskan North Slope, it is not like portrayed in the media.
I agree with your last statement. Conservation can occur with utilization.