Shale oil

wrote of its healing properties.[5] Shale oil was used to

light the streets of Modena, Italy at the turn of the 17th
century.[5] 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.[5][6][7] Later sold as Bettons British Oil, the distilled product was said to have been tried by divers persons in Aches and Pains with much benet.[8] Modern
shale oil extraction industries were established in France
during the 1830s and in Scotland during the 1840s.[9]
The oil was used as fuel, as a lubricant and lamp oil;
the Industrial Revolution had created additional demand
for lighting. It served as a substitute for the increasingly
scarce and expensive whale oil.[5][10][11]

This article is about synthetic petroleum produced by

pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution from oil
shale. For crude oil occurring in shale reservoirs and also
referred to as 'shale oil', see tight oil.
Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale
rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal
dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas.
The resulting oil can be used immediately as a fuel or
upgraded to meet renery feedstock specications by
adding hydrogen and removing impurities such as sulfur
and nitrogen. The rened products can be used for the
same purposes as those derived from crude oil.

During the late 19th century, shale-oil extraction plants

were built in Australia, Brazil and the United States.
China (Manchuria), Estonia, New Zealand, South Africa,
Spain, Sweden and Switzerland produced shale oil in the
early 20th century. The discovery of crude oil in the Middle East during mid-century brought most of these industries to a halt, although Estonia and Northeast China
maintained their extraction industries into the early 21st
century.[9][12][13] In response to rising petroleum costs
at the turn of the 21st century, extraction operations
have commenced, been explored, or been renewed in the
United States, China, Australia and Jordan.[13]

The term shale oil is interchangeable, as it is used as

well for crude oil produced from shales of other very low
permeability formations. However, for avoiding the risk
of confusion of shale oil produced from oil shale with
crude oil in oil-bearing shales, the International Energy
Agency recommends to use the term "light tight oil" and
World Energy Resources 2013 report by the World Energy Council uses the term "tight oil" for the latter.[1][2]

History

Main article: History of the oil shale industry

Oil shale was one of the rst sources of mineral oil used

2 Extraction process
Main article: Shale oil extraction

Shale oil is extracted by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution of oil shale.[14][15] The pyrolysis of the
rock is performed in a retort, situated either above ground
or within the rock formation itself. As of 2008, most
oil shale industries perform the shale oil extraction process after the rock is mined, crushed and transported to
a retorting facility, although several experimental technologies perform the process in place (in-situ). The temperature at which the kerogen decomposes into usable
hydrocarbons varies with the time-scale of the process;
Three West Lothian shale mounds, evidence of the early paran in the above-ground retorting process decomposition begins at 300 C (570 F), but proceeds more rapidly and
oil industry in the 19th century Scotland
completely at higher temperatures. Decomposition takes
temperature between 480 and 520
[3]
by humans. Its earliest recorded use was in Switzerland place most quickly at a[14]
C
(900
and
970
F).
[4]
and Austria in the early 14th century. In 1596, the personal physician of Frederick I, Duke of Wrttemberg Hydrogenation and thermal dissolution (reactive uid
1

6 RESERVES AND PRODUCTION

processes) extract the oil using hydrogen donors, solvents,

or a combination of these. Thermal dissolution involves
the application of solvents at elevated temperatures and
pressures, increasing oil output by cracking the dissolved
organic matter. Dierent methods produce shale oil with
dierent properties.[15][16][17][18]

4 Upgrading

The amount of oil that can be recovered during retorting varies with the oil shale and the technology used.[13]
About one sixth of the oil shales in the Green River Formation have a relatively high yield of 25 to 100 US gallons
(95 to 379 l; 21 to 83 imp gal) of shale oil per ton of oil
shale; about one third yield from 10 to 25 US gallons (38
to 95 l; 8.3 to 20.8 imp gal) per ton. (Ten US gal/ton
is approximately 3.4 tons of oil per 100 tons of shale.)
About half of the oil shales in the Green River Formation
yield less than 10 US gal/ton.[23]

quires adjusting hydrogencarbon ratios by adding hydrogen (hydrocracking) or removing carbon (coking).[35][36]

Although raw shale oil can be immediately burnt as a fuel

oil, many of its applications require that it be upgraded.
The diering properties of the raw oils call for correspondingly various pre-treatments before it can be sent
A critical measure of the viability of extraction of shale to a conventional oil renery.[32]
oil lies in the ratio of the energy produced by the oil Particulates in the raw oil clog downstream processes;
shale to the energy used in its mining and processing, a sulfur and nitrogen create air pollution. Sulfur and niratio known as Energy Returned on Energy Invested trogen, along with the arsenic and iron that may be
(EROEI). A 1984 study estimated the EROEI of the var- present, also destroy the catalysts used in rening.[33][34]
ious known oil-shale deposits as varying between 0.7 Olens form insoluble sediments and cause instabil13.3.[19] More recent studies estimates the EROEI of oil ity. The oxygen within the oil, present at higher levshales to be 12:1 or 216:1 depending on whether self- els than in crude oil, lends itself to the formation of
energy is counted as a cost or internal energy is excluded destructive free radicals.[29] Hydrodesulfurization and
and only purchased energy is counted as input.[20] Royal hydrodenitrogenation can address these problems and
Dutch Shell reported an EROEI of three to four in 2006 result in a product comparable to benchmark crude
on its in situ development in the "Mahogany Research oil.[28][29][35][36] Phenols can be rst be removed by water
Project.[21][22]
extraction.[36] Upgrading shale oil into transport fuels re-

The major global shale oil producers have published their

yields for their commercial operations. Fushun Mining
Group reports producing 300,000 tons per year of shale
oil from 6.6 million tons of shale, a yield of 4.5% by
weight.[24] VKG Oil claims to produce 250,000 tons of oil
per year from 2 million tons of shale, a yield of 13%.[25]
Petrobras produces in their Petrosix plant 550 tons of oil
per day from 6,200 tons of shale, a yield of 9%.[26]

Properties

The properties of raw shale oil vary with the shales composition and the extraction technology from aromatic to
aliphatic.[27] Typically it contains 0.5 to 1 percent oxygen,
1.5 to 2 percent nitrogen and 0.15 to 1 percent sulfur.
Mineral particles are often present as well.[28][29] The oil
is less uid than crude oil, becoming pourable at temperatures between 24 and 27 C (75 and 81 F), while conventional crude oil is pourable at temperatures between 60
to 30 C (76 to 86 F); this property aects shale oils
ability to be transported in existing pipelines.[28][30][31]

Shale oil produced by some technologies, such as the

Kiviter process, can be used without further upgrading
as an oil constituent and as a phenolic compound. Distillate oils from the Kiviter process can also be used as
diluents for petroleum-originated heavy oils and as an
adhesive-enhancing additive in bituminous materials such
as asphalt.[36]

5 Usage
Before World War II, most shale oil was upgraded for
use as transport fuels. Afterwards, it was used as a raw
material for chemical intermediates, pure chemicals and
industrial resins, and as a railroad wood preservative. As
of 2008, it is primarily used as a heating oil and marine
fuel, and to a lesser extent in the production of various
chemicals.[32]
Shale oils concentration of high-boiling point compounds is suited for the production of middle distillates
such as kerosene, jet fuel and diesel fuel.[29][37][38] Additional cracking can create the lighter hydrocarbons used
in gasoline.[29][39]

6 Reserves and production

Main article: Oil shale reserves
Global technically recoverable oil shale reserves have recently been estimated at about 2.8 to 3.3 trillion barrels
(450109 to 520109 m3 ) of shale oil, with the largest reserves in the United States, which is thought to have 1.5
2.6 trillion barrels (240109 410109 m3 ).[12][37][40][41]

3
Worldwide production of shale oil was estimated at
11,600 barrels per day (1,840 m3 /d) in 2002. The leading producers were Estonia (5,500 barrels per day (870
m3 /d)), Brazil (3,100 barrels per day (490 m3 /d)) and
China (2,000 barrels per day (320 m3 /d)).[42] In 2008,
China led production with 470 million liters (ML), followed by Estonia (445 ML) and Brazil (250 ML).[43]

[9] Francu, Juraj; Harvie, Barbra; Laenen, Ben; Siirde, Andres; Veiderma, Mihkel (May 2007). A study on the EU
oil shale industry viewed in the light of the Estonian experience. A report by EASAC to the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy of the European Parliament
(PDF). European Academies Science Advisory Council.
pp. 1; 5; 12. Retrieved 2011-05-07.

The production of shale oil has been hindered because [10] Doscher, Todd M. Petroleum. MSN Encarta. Retrieved
2008-04-22.
of technical diculties and costs.[44] In March 2011, the
United States Bureau of Land Management called into
[11] Oil Shale. American Association of Petroleum Geoloquestion proposals in the U.S. for commercial operations,
gists. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
stating that "There are no economically viable ways yet
known to extract and process oil shale for commercial pur- [12] Survey of energy resources (PDF) (21 ed.). World Energy
poses."[45]
Council (WEC). 2007. ISBN 0-946121-26-5. Retrieved
2007-11-13.

See also
Oil shale gas
Underground coal gasication

References

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ISBN 978-92-64-20130-9.
[2] World Energy Resources 2013 Survey (PDF). World Energy Council. 2013. p. 2.46. ISBN 9780946121298.
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[4] Oil Shale (PDF). Colorado School of Mines. 2008. p.
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[5] Moody, Richard (2007-04-20). Oil & Gas Shales, Definitions & Distribution In Time & Space. In The History of On-Shore Hydrocarbon Use in the UK (PDF).
Geological Society of London. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-0110.
[6] Louw, S.J.; Addison, J. (1985). Seaton, A., ed. Studies
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and Green River formation shales. Final report on US
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[13] Dyni, John R. (2006). Geology and resources of some

world oil-shale deposits. Scientic Investigations Report
20055294 (PDF). United States Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey. p. 142. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
[14] Koel, Mihkel (1999). Estonian oil shale. Oil Shale. A
Scientic-Technical Journal (Estonian Academy Publishers) (Extra). ISSN 0208-189X. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
[15] Luik, Hans (2009-06-08). Alternative technologies for
oil shale liquefaction and upgrading (PDF). International
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[19] Cleveland, Cutler J.; Costanza, Robert; Hall, Charles
A. S.; Kaufmann, Robert (1984-08-31).
Energy
and the U.S. Economy: A Biophysical Perspective (PDF). Science (American Association for the
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doi:10.1126/science.225.4665.890. ISSN 0036-8075.
PMID 17779848. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
[20] Brandt, Adam R. (2009). Converting Green River oil
shale to liquid fuels with the Alberta Taciuk Processor: energy inputs and greenhouse gas emissions (PDF).
Energy & Fuels (American Chemical Society) 23 (12):
62536258. doi:10.1021/ef900678d. ISSN 0887-0624.
(subscription required). Retrieved 2011-07-04.

[21] Oil Shale Test Project. Oil Shale Research and Development Project (PDF). Shell Frontier Oil and Gas. 200602-15. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
[22] Reiss, Spencer (2005-12-13). Tapping the Rock Field.
WIRED Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
[23] Fact Sheet: U.S. Oil Shale Resources (PDF). United
States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
[24] Promitis, Guntis (2008-11-03). Oil shale promise
(PDF). Oil & Gas Journal (PennWell Corporation): 16.
Retrieved 2011-10-09.
[25] VKG Oil AS. Viru Keemia Grupp. Retrieved 2011-1009.
[26] Qian, Jialin; Wang Jianqiu (2006-11-07). World oil shale
retorting technologies (PDF). International Oil Shale
Conference. Amman, Jordan: Jordanian Natural Resources Authority. Retrieved 2007-06-29.

REFERENCES

[36] Mlder, Leevi (2004). Estonian Oil Shale Retorting Industry at a Crossroads (PDF). Oil Shale. A ScienticTechnical Journal (Estonian Academy Publishers) 21 (2):
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[37] Andrews, Anthony (2006-04-13). Oil Shale: History,
Incentives and Policy (PDF). Congressional Research
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[38] Andrews, Anthony (2008-11-17). Developments in
Oil Shale (PDF). Congressional Research Service.
RL34748. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
[39] James Girard (2004). Principles of Environmental Chemistry. Jones & Bartlett. ISBN 978-0-7637-2471-9. Fractional distillation yields mainly high molecular weight hydrocarbons, which can then be cracked to yield desirable
hydrocarbons in the gasoline range.
[40] Annual Energy Outlook 2006 (PDF). Energy Information Administration. February 2006. Retrieved 2007-0622.

[27] McKetta, John J. (1994). Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design 50. CRC Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-08247-2601-0. Retrieved 2009-06-02.

[41] NPRs National Strategic Unconventional Resource

Model (PDF). United States Department of Energy.
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[28] Lee, Sunggyu (1991). Oil Shale Technology. CRC Press.

p. 7. ISBN 0-8493-4615-0. Retrieved 2008-12-24.

[42] Laherrre, Jean H. (2005). Review on oil shale data

(PDF). Hubbert Peak. p. 8. Retrieved 2008-12-28.

[29] Speight, James (2008). Synthetic Fuels Handbook.

McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-07149023-8. Retrieved 2008-12-24.

[43] Shale Oil. Government of Australia (Australian Atlas of

Mineral Resources, Mines and Processing Centres). Retrieved 2010-11-27.

[30] Wauquier, Jean-Pierre; Trambouze, Pierre; Favennec,

Jean-Pierre (1995). Petroleum Rening: Crude Oil.
Petroleum Products. Process Flowsheets. Editions TECHNIP. p. 317. ISBN 978-2-7108-0685-1. Retrieved 200812-24.

[44] Kraushaar, Jack P., and Robert A. Ristinen. Energy and

the Environment-2nd ed. New York, NY: Wiley & Sons
Inc., 2006. 5456.

[31] Market assessment for shale oil. Energy Citations

Database. 1979. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
[32] Purga, Jaanus (2007-10-16). Shale Products Production, Quality and Market Challenges (PDF). 27th Oil
Shale Symposium. Golden, Colorado: Colorado School
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[33] Bo Yu; Ping Xu; Shanshan Zhu; Xiaofeng Cai;
Ying Wang; Li Li; Fuli Li; Xiaoyong Liu; Cuiqing
Ma (March 2006). Selective Biodegradation of S
and N Heterocycles by a Recombinant Rhodococcus erythropolis Strain Containing Carbazole Dioxygenase (PDF). Applied and Environmental Microbiology
(American Society for Microbiology) 72 (3): 2235
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1393234. PMID 16517679. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
[34] Process for treating hot shale oil euent from a retort
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[35] Oja, Vahur (2006). A brief overview of motor fuels
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[45] Bureau of Land Management (2011-04-14). Notice of

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