Gas, Oil, and Electricity from Oil Shale Kerogens Using In Situ Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Trillions of barrels of oil equivalent locked inside oil shale kerogens are waiting for a clean and profitable approach of production. We have discussed one likely approach -- high temperature gas cooled nuclear reactors -- which is likely to be an effective, clean, and profitable approach to oil shale kerogen production. But it is likely to take between 15 and 20 years of development before such a method is ready for the Green River formation in the US Rocky Mountain west.

A different approach was patented by Marshall Savage, utilising solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) placed within the rock at strategic locations. This approach would produce oil, gas, and electricity using an in situ process, without significant mining or rock removal.

The present invention is a subterranean heater composed of fuel cells. In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus comprises a plurality of fuel cells assembled in a vertical stack via plates generally referred to in the art as “interconnect plates”, or “bipolar plates”. Conduits throughout the stack supply the cells with fuel and air or other oxidant, and remove exhaust gases. Preferably, the fuel cell stack is enclosed in a casing adapted for insertion into a well bore. An electrical connection is provided to the far end (typically bottom) of the stack to allow completion of an electric circuit.

The encased fuel cell stack is inserted into a wellbore, preferably vertically, but potentially horizontally or at some other orientation. Preferably, the encased stack is cemented into the borehole by a suitably heat conducting grout. Fuel and air are pumped into the stack through the incorporated conduits to the fuel cells. Within the fuel cells, electrochemical reactions take place to produce electricity and heat. The electricity passes out of the stack through an electric circuit. Fuel cells, of the solid oxide type, which are preferred, operate at temperatures in the 800 to 1000 degree Centigrade range. This is also the preferred temperature range for many subterranean heating applications. Heat passes from the fuel cell stack to the underground formation by thermal conduction. Thus, the operating fuel cell stack acts as a down-hole conduction heater of enormous magnitude, perhaps taking a year of operation to prepare a resource layer for in situ mining.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, conduits for air, gaseous fuel, and exhaust are formed by aligning holes in the interconnect plates. Communication for circulation of these gases is provided by channels formed in the surface of the interconnect plates. _PatentsOnline

http://www.energytv.com/videos/view/4396

A small Colorado company is moving ahead with testing and development of this in situ fuel cell approach -- called Geothermic Fuel Cells because they put heat into the rock rather than taking it out.

A little-known energy technology company in Parker... stands at the forefront of a new era in domestic energy production. Independent Energy Partners Inc. is in the early stages of rolling out an industry game-changer, a device that holds tremendous promise in helping the United States harvest energy in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way.

The seven-employee firm with offices on Pine Drive is about to turn the oil shale industry upside down with its in-situ Geothermic Fuel Cell, a solid oxide fuel cell unit that heats subterranean rock formations to recover three energy components from “unconventional hydrocarbons,” said Al Forbes, chief executive officer of IEP.

The first, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the recovered hydrocarbon energy, is a high-quality oil from the processing of kerogen in the shale. The second is natural gas. The third is “baseload green electricity,” captured via the “electrochemical process” of fuel cells. The electricity is produced as a by-product of the process, with nearly 80 percent being surplus and sold to utility or industrial companies, which offsets some of the costs associated with the process and the manufacturing of the high-tech Geothermic Fuel Cells.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect is that the unit is designed to operate on a portion of the gases produced during the process, resulting in a low carbon footprint, especially when compared to antiquated methods that are still being used. The GFC becomes a self-sustaining device that requires only a small amount of natural gas to start the process.

After getting patents, IEP worked closely with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Labs on design and engineering to confirm the “technical feasibility” of the Geothermic Fuel Cell. IEP has also entered into agreements with Total Petroleum and the Colorado School of Mines, which has contributed technical support and will help conduct testing.

The partners have leases or options on oil shale resources in the Rocky Mountain Region that contain an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil; IEP owns mineral rights in the Piceance Creek Basin on the Western Slope that contain roughly 2 billion barrels of oil.

The low-emission process was developed by Marshall Savage, who approached Forbes with his idea in 2003. The founder of IEP was so convinced that the “revolutionary” product would succeed, that he dropped all other business ventures, including renewable energy, to strictly focus on the GFCs.

...The company, alongside the Colorado School of Mines, has begun an 18-month program to test the prototype prior to field demonstration, and Delphi has reconfigured some of its products to adapt to IEP's application. Forbes expects commercial production of GFCs by 2015 or 2016. _ColoradoNews

IEP's website

PDF comparison of oil shale production technologies, including a good look at the Geothermic Fuel Cell approach (PDF)

The in situ SOFCs are fueled by gas that is released from the rock once the fuel cells have warmed up. In other words, the process is self-sustaining once the SOFCs achieve operating temperature using an initial startup boos from natural gas.

The combined products of electric power, gas, and oil, provide the operation with multiple sources of cash flow.

Warm-up time required before commercial oil production can begin is estimated to be up to 2 years.

The total oil equivalent in the Green River kerogen deposit is estimated to be up to 3 trillion barrels.

3 Trillion Barrels of Oil Equivalent from Green River Kerogens: What Does It Mean?

More Oil Than OPEC

There's no question, says Rusco, that the oil is there, all 3 trillion barrels of it...

...Both the GAO and private industry estimate the amount of oil recoverable to be 3 trillion barrels.

"In the past 100 years — in all of human history -- we have consumed 1 trillion barrels of oil. There are several times that much here," said Roger Day, vice president for operations for American Shale Oil (AMSO). _ABCnews

Will Advanced Kerogen Production Put a Ceiling on Global Oil Prices?

Enefit, an oil producer headquartered in Estonia, has been producing oil from oil shale in Europe for more than 30 years, according to the CEO of its Utah subsidiary, Enefit American Oil. Rikki Hrenko says Enefit brings the shale to the surface, then heats it in retorts.

"It's more labor intensive to have to mine the shale," Hrenko said. "But the economics are still quite feasible." She puts the break-even price at about $65 a barrel. The cost of producing in Utah, she thinks, will be only slightly higher than in Estonia. _ABCNews

But in reality, in situ production would be cheaper in the Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming than mining in Estonia -- if producers used a cheap enough source of abundant, high quality heat. In fact, being able to produce a resource of 3 trillion boe, at a price of between $60 and $70 a barrel, might seem to place a price ceiling on global oil.

The only problem is that it will probably take 20 years before the technology and cheap process heat are ready to meet the government regulations and prevailing prices for oil.

Yes, it will probably also be 20 years before modular high temperature gas cooled nuclear reactors are approved in the US and produced in high enough numbers to be placed at Green River well heads.

But even when the technology, the cheap heat, the environmental approvals, and the market prices all come together, there is still the problem of getting the oil to global markets. The big price gap between WTI and Brent points out the problem nicely. Adding refined oil shale kerogens to the North American mix would not help the problem of lack of access to ports.

Getting the product to market is a serious problem, in a political environment where the US Democratic Party has stonewalled the exportation of abundant shale gas, and obstructed construction of LNG terminals in US ports. When you have agendas of political energy starvation afoot, the cost of doing energy business shoots up accordingly.

The truth is, US demand for oil has been on a downward slope. US shale oil production has grown exponentially, and looks to continue doing that for another 10 years or so before plateauing. US demand for oil shale kerogens at this time is minimal. Everything will depend upon global prices, government environmental regulations, and government policies that support the export of petroleum products from the US.

Until those matters are settled, the possibility that 3 trillion boe's of Green River kerogens will put a price ceiling on global oil, will have to remain a distant possibility.

What if Peak Oil Died and Nobody Noticed?... and Other Energy Stories

A lot of hucksters are making a good living from peak oil doomerism. It has gotten to the point that it no longer matters whether peak oil has any intrinsic importance or not -- it is the symbolism of peak oil doom and devastation that matters. It is the catastrophic image inside the minds of the believers which drives the apocalyptic movement.

In the real world, things are not nearly so clear cut as in the mind of a cultist:

Apparently something terrible happens when we get to peak oil. I've never really quite understood the argument myself, but when we've used half of all the oil then civilisation collapses or something. I'm not sure why this should happen: we don't start starving when there's only half a loaf of bread left. But I am assured that something awful does happen.

That oil fields do get pumped out is obviously true – and also that you can have a good guess at when the ones we're currently pumping will run out. The part I don't get is the catastrophe. Some people seem to think that "peak oil" is when we can't actually pump out a higher amount: that if we've got 70 million barrels a day, then that's the most we can ever have, 70 million a day. Which is also called a disaster. Apparently this means that demand will move ahead of supply, which is simple sheer ignorance of the price system. There is no such thing as "supply" or "demand". There is only either of them at a price. So, if there really is a limit on how fast we can pump the stuff up, the price will rise.

Like it is at the moment. There's a lot more demand for $50-a-barrel oil than there is supply of it, which is why the price is $100 a barrel. It's true that if we really do reach some production plateau, then it's likely that the price will rise. But I still don't even see the catastrophe there. What with the taxes we pay, oil in the UK is around $300 per barrel at present. It is indeed a bit of a strain filling up the car, but other than that I don't see any more signs of the imminent collapse of civilisation than we normally have with politicians in charge.

Even if we accept the geological conventional wisdom, then there's still no cause for panic. Prices will rise, yes, so people will go off and do other things. Either use something else instead of oil (that ever cheaper shale gas for example) or simply doing things that require less energy. That's what a price system is for, after all, providing the signals that a certain resource is in scarce supply.

But the thing is, we really shouldn't be accepting this geology either.

The Green River Formation—an assemblage of over 1,000 feet of sedimentary rocks that lie beneath parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming—contains the world’s largest deposits of oil shale. USGS estimates that the Green River Formation contains about 3 trillion barrels of oil, and about half of this may be recoverable, depending on available technology and economic conditions. The Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, estimates that 30 to 60 percent of the oil shale in the Green River Formation can be recovered. At the midpoint of this estimate, almost half of the 3 trillion barrels of oil would be recoverable. This is an amount about equal to the entire world’s proven oil reserves.

Yes, we do know how to get this out: these reserves are similar to the Bakken shale in North Dakota that is spurting out oil as you read. _Telegraph

The author of the piece -- like many others recently -- may be understating the challenges of clean and economical extraction of the Green River kerogen oil shales. But that may be because we are not even close to the point that we need to extract oil shale kerogens to use in place of crude oil.

The best tool for clean, economical extraction of oil shales, oil sands, and conversion of gas, coal, and biomass to liquid fuels -- is high temperature gas cooled nuclear reactors of the generation IV variety. Areva and other engineering firms are working on perfecting that gen IV reactor technology, and although it may take the US government another 10 to 20 years to approve and license the designs, that is just about the time that we will need to start cleanly converting oil shale kerogens to crude.

In other energy news, the African nation of Ghana is looking for ways that it can integrate nuclear power into its overall energy mix. Nigeria is another African nation that is pushing to develop its own nuclear power industry.

Intermittent unreliables such as big wind power, are finding it more difficult to get lucrative subsidies from governments. Perhaps it is the fact that intermittent unreliables such as big wind and big solar are so unreliable and expensive, which is causing some governments to step back from the abyss.

And yet, tech powerhouse Google persists in its green energy dreams. Is it possible that for all of its brainpower, Google has allowed political activists to grab control of its energy plans and blueprints? That might explain Google's green energy idiocy.

Does anyone have access to the medical records of climate hack James Hansen? His recent attacks against Canada show the friend of Al Gore to have jumped the shark, right over a cliff. When a person confuses a computer model for the actual climate, he no longer deserves to be called a scientist.

There is a difference between educating oneself and indulging in self-indoctrination into a doomsday cult. It may be too late for this generation of peak oil doomer cultists, but if we hurry we may be able to save at least some of the newer generations -- and turn them into truly competent, independent, and very dangerous children. Which is precisely what the future needs.

Oil Shale Kerogen Prospects in Morroco

Massive deposits of oil shale kerogens exist in the US, Jordan, Israel, and several other nations. Morocco is beginning to take a look at ways that it can capitalise on its own deposits of oil shale kerogens.

TheDominion Moroccan Oil Shale

Morocco, like Jordan and Israel, is moving towards using the most carbon intensive fuel base on earth. This move is supported by present, and projected, oil prices that make synthetic crude from oil shale profitable on a near permanent basis. Technology has become cheaper while the price of oil has gone up dramatically. Recent industry estimates indicate that oil can now be extracted from shale for approximately US$40 per barrel, while the average price at an American pump is US$94 per barrel.

With global oil demand slated to grow, Morocco is set to become an unconventional oil producer through mining oil shale and converting it to mock crude oil in a fashion similar to Canadian tar sands development, but borrowing on shale technology from Brazil. Morocco also has contracts to use Estonian technology to mine and burn oil shale directly for domestic electricity.

Estonia is one of a few countries in the world that has ongoing oil shale currently in operation. The Tangier deposit of oil shale in the north of Morocco is likely to see Eesti Energy-owned Enefit of Estonia work to mine this shale directly for domestic electricity generation, which would treat the kerogen shale more like a cousin of coal rather than an ancestor of oil.

Petrobras, the Brazilian state-owned oil company, has developed a technique of extracting oil as well as gas from oil shale, and has been involved in this process commercially since the early 1980s. A partnership between Petrobras and TOTAL energy of France has been developing towards shale-to-oil mining at the Timahdit deposit, a deposit much larger than Tangier, approximately 240 kilometres southeast of Rabat, Morocco’s capital. Petrobras would be the main operator of the Timahdit mine, but both world energy majors will share the costs and profits. _ExtremeExtraction

The above article goes on to point out a few of the environmental problems with a large scale development of shale oil extraction in Morroco. The world kerogen resource is not yet ready for modern development -- at least not in ways that would satisfy modern environmental lobbies -- particularly in the US.

And yet if environmental lobbies continue trying to block and prohibit the development of all forms of reliable large-scale energy and fuels, eventually they are likely to be lined up against a wall and shot. The reason for this is that civilisation cannot exist without energy, and if the only forms of large-scale reliable energy happen to be objectionable to the big money environmental lobbies, popular opinion will eventually swing violently against these special interests -- which too often only pretend to be concerned about the environment, being in reality more often concerned with their own power, wealth, and influence.

Here is a broader look at some of the replacements for crude oil, including kerogens:

Shale is a type of sedimentary rock rich in organic matter. Deposits of shale often contain kerogen, a set of organic compounds from which petroleum (oil and natural gas) can be extracted through a series of chemical processes. Extraction of oil from shale had been the standard way of extracting oil for centuries, with British patents granted for extraction of oil in this way going back as far as the 16th century. Oil from shale came to an abrupt end when liquid oil started gushing from wells in the continental United States. Rising demand for petroleum products and significant deposits of oil and natural gas in shale has led oil companies the world over, from the US to India, to start investing in technologies to make possible its extraction. So much so, that shale gas is slated to form a major portion of the natural gas produced in the US. In India too, companies such as Reliance, Reliance Natural Resources and ONGC are preparing to invest in shale gas exploration in a big way, with large deposits found in the Cambay Basin in Gujarat, the Gondwana Basin in Central India and the Assam-Arakan basin in eastern India.

...Technically, bitumen is a highly viscous form of petroleum. Rising prices of oil in the international market have made bitumen an unlikely, yet promising, source. So much so that even within this most conventional of energy sources, extraction of petroleum from bitumen is termed as unconventional oil.

Canada and Venezuela are especially well endowed with large reserves of oil sands. Located beneath boreal forests, the Canadian deposits are the world’s most extensive and are supposed to contain a potential 170 billion barrels of oil, larger than the total reserves of Saudi Arabia.

... _Drilling for Dummies by a Dummy

Shale gas to liquids and coal to liquids are yet two more large-scale sources for crude oil replacements for the future. All of these approaches to peak oil substitution are made more viable by the use of process heat from gas-cooled gen III nuclear reactors.

One sign of hope that some of the environmental special interests may be developing a small bit of pragmatism, is the growing number of self-labeled environmentalists who are publicly coming out for new, safe, advanced, nuclear power. While their backing of nuclear power may be caused by a delusional carbon hysteria, it is welcome all the same.

If only more of the whining obstructionists would learn to solve problems, rather than creating or exaggerating them, they might be taken more seriously by the people who actively prop up the infrastructure of civilisation.

Explosive News: Waterless In Situ Extraction of Oil Shale Kerogens

Eco-Shale Technology

The EcoShale™ In-Capsule Technology involves heating mined shale in a closed surface impoundment, or capsule. The process relies on conventional mining and construction methods and produces a bottomless oil product that requires no coking. The process produces a shale oil with a much higher concentration of middle distillate than West Texas intermediate crude. Two synthetic shale oil products are produced: (1) prompt oil of approximately 29 API gravity; (2) condensate oil of approximately 39 API gravity. The oil and condensate produced with this process have no fines and have very low acid numbers.

The technology requires no process water, protects groundwater and vegetation, uses low temperatures for heating and allows for rapid site reclamation.

The resultant product is a high quality feedstock with an average 34 API and no fines. The process also results in synthetic natural gas production allowing for energy self-sufficiency. _EcoShale

...the Uinta Basin is the site of the massive Eocene Green River Shale formation – potentially the largest reservoir of unconventional petroleum in the world. With total reserves estimated at up to 1.3 trillion barrels, and ultimately recoverable reserves of 800 billion barrels or more , this formation holds three times or more the amount of Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves. Unlocking this formation would change the energy outlook of the nation – and of the world – for a century or more.

Today, TomCo has announced that it has awarded contacts toward the development of this resource. _Source

World Oil
Reserves of oil shale kerogens in the western US states is massive -- far larger than the huge proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. Now a technology exists which can liberate these vast trapped energy reserves without using water or contaminating groundwater. Using this waterless in situ approach, the scenic appearance of these majestic western drylands will be unaffected, and the environmental quality of the region will be preserved.

The use of nuclear process heat from gas-cooled reactors is yet another waterless in situ approach to the environmentally sound liberation of oil shale kerogens. Raytheon's microwave approach -- powered by nuclear generated electricity -- is yet another viable approach to the valuable resource.

It is almost impossible for most persons to envision the economic impact of the introduction of these vast energy resources into world energy markets. Far more resources are devoted by the Obama administration to shutting down the liberation of North America's vast energy stores, than to making the production of energy cleaner and more economical.

Mr. Obama's approach has always been one of energy starvation, rather than energy facilitation. That is just one of the several nearly insurmountable obstacles to prosperity which the US economy currently faces, and for which Mr. Obama can take direct credit -- if only he would.

Cross-posted and adapted from an article posted to Al Fin

Can Oil Production in the Americas be Boosted by 16 mmbd?

By the 2020s, the capital of energy will likely have shifted back to the Western Hemisphere, where it was prior to the ascendancy of Middle Eastern megasuppliers such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the 1960s. The reasons for this shift are partly technological and partly political. Geologists have long known that the Americas are home to plentiful hydrocarbons trapped in hard-to-reach offshore deposits, on-land shale rock, oil sands, and heavy oil formations. The U.S. endowment of unconventional oil is more than 2 trillion barrels, with another 2.4 trillion in Canada and 2 trillion-plus in South America -- compared with conventional Middle Eastern and North African oil resources of 1.2 trillion. The problem was always how to unlock them economically.

But since the early 2000s, the energy industry has largely solved that problem. With the help of horizontal drilling and other innovations, shale gas production in the United States has skyrocketed from virtually nothing to 15 to 20 percent of the U.S. natural gas supply in less than a decade. By 2040, it could account for more than half of it. _FP

FPBrian Wang links to a story in Foreign Policy which suggests that oil production in the Americas could be boosted by up to 16 million barrels per day! Such a large daily production boost would involve multiple sources, including shale oils, heavy oils, oil sands, oil shale kerogens, and offshore wells in the Gulf of Mexico and off of the Brazilian coast. Examples:

...analysts are predicting production of as much as 1.5 million barrels a day in the next few years from resources beneath the Great Plains and Texas alone...

...Brazil is believed to have the capacity to pump 2 million barrels a day from "pre-salt" deepwater resources, deposits of crude found more than a mile below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean that until the last couple of years were technologically inaccessible. Similar gains are to be had in Canadian oil sands, where petroleum is extracted from tarry sediment in open pits. And production of perhaps 3 million to 7 million barrels a day more is possible if U.S. in situ heavy oil, or kerogen, can be produced commercially... _FP

US President Obama's ongoing de facto drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico, US Arctic, etc. is costing the US roughly one quarter of a million jobs or more, and a huge amount of daily oil production.

Petrobras is showing strong profits, and has ambitious plans for offshore production.

Energy companies are rushing to Ohio to develop large shale oil deposits

Texas is riding high on new oil discoveries and technologies

Development of the huge bitumen and heavy oil deposits in Canada and Venezuela, and oil shale kerogens in the US, will be a challenge. But if the market demand for liquid hydrocarbons expands as has been predicted, new technologies to develop these resources in an environmentally responsible manner will be developed.

Israeli Oil Shale: 250 Billion Barrel Oil Equivalent Bonanza?

Dr. Harold Vinegar of Israeli Energy Initiatives is very optimistic about turning tiny Israel into a world giant of fuels. Estimates place Israel's reserves of oil shale kerogens second only to those of the US.

Dr. Vinegar has developed a new, deep in situ process of extracting oil from oil shale, which are not supposed to use excessive amounts of either water or energy. In fact, Vinegar claims that it will cost no more to produce oil from Israeli oil shale, than it costs Brazil to produce its offshore oil.

According to Dr Vinegar, Israel has the second-biggest oil shale deposits in the world, outside the US: "We estimate that there is the equivalent of 250 billion barrels of oil here. To put that in context, there are proven reserves of 260 billion barrels of oil in Saudi Arabia."

...According to Dr Vinegar, IEI, which is owned by the American telecoms group IDT Corp, hopes to begin production on a commercial basis by the end of the decade, with a view to producing 50,000 barrels per day at the outset. This would be a fraction of the 270,000bpd consumed daily by Israel, but would be a significant step towards making the country energy-independent. _Australian

The Israeli oil shale project is still in early development, but the massive global reserves of oil shales suggest that eventually someone will develop a cheap and clean way of developing this resource.

One possible direction to look is the new "ionic liquid" approach which is being developed for use with Canadian oil sands. Ionic liquids are an area of exciting research for energy and industrial use.

• Laboratory studies show ILs [Ionic Liquids, ed.] have potential for application in a number of energy-related areas:
1. Liquefaction, gasification and chemical modification of solid fuels (coal, oil shale, kerogen), biomass at temperatures below 400°C. (e.g., Patell 1993, Keol et al. 2001)
a. Reduction of viscosity, molecular weight of components in heavy oil (Johnson 2002)
b. Coals can be dissolved in chloroaluminate(III) IL, reacted (acylated) for liquifaction and desulfurization (Boesmann et al. 2001)
c. Acidification of petroleum wells (Fu and Card, US Patent 6,350,721)
2. Sweetening of sour gas (replacement for amine scrubbing)
a. Absorption of H2S and CO2 (Brennecke & Maginn US patent 6,579,343)
b. Mercaptan removal (O’Rear et al. Patent WO2002034863)
3. Optimization for high-octane fuel additives – Use of nickel catalyst solvated in IL in formation of 2,3-dimethylbutenes from propene (e.g., Chauvin and Olivier-Bourbigou 1995)
4. Environmental removal of contaminants from waste streams. ... Adsorption of CO2 and other compounds from gas streams (Brennecke and
Maginn 2003)... _Chemicalvision2020 PDF

Neoteric Solvents in Oil Shales PDF

Reversible Ionic Liquids for Energy Applications PDF

The possibilities seem endless for the application of these solvents, for separating and purifying a wide range of substances, as well as for catalysis of a number of processes. Their use in oil sands and oil shale are likely to be among the least important uses for this class of substance.

The main thing to remember is that these new chemical and industrial tools can reduce the need for water and energy in the extraction and processing of unconventional fuels -- and a whole lot more.

Oil Shale Mining and Research Picking Up Steam

Estonia's largest oil shale mining company, Eesti Energia, reported the largest oil shale production figures in 18 years for 2010 - 17 million tons, up 3 million tons from the year before.

The bulk of the national power company Eesti Energia's mining subsidiary's production is used in the furnaces of the Narva power plants, which have significantly geared up electricity production due to a sharp decline in imports after the closure of Lithuania's Ignalina nuclear plant. _ERRNews

The short quote above illustrates several points. First, Estonia is using its own oil shale resources to generate electrical power -- by burning oil shale (kerogen) in furnaces to drive steam turbines -- similar to one of the ways that coal is used to generate electrical power. Second, the EU's misguided drive to shut down European nuclear plants will have the effect of increasing the use of fossil fuels use. Third, oil shale kerogens are located all over the world. Most countries are not burdened by an Obama-style energy starvation regime. They will use their fossil fuel resources if they must.

Oil shale is reported from nearly 40 countries, with the largest deposits being located in the United States, Russia and China. Middle Eastern and North African resources also are large in aggregate.

Active commercial shale oil production occurs in Estonia, Brazil and China, with total global production of shale oil about 20,000 barrels per day. Informal current and future production numbers (figure 1) indicate that shale oil is unlikely to be a significant part of global production for a decade or more.

China has set aggressive goals for production over the next two decades, and the figures for the United States could be conservative, depending on the political environment.

The United States, Jordan, Israel and Morocco are nonproducing areas likely to see future shale oil production.

The United States, with over half the estimated world resources of oil shale, remains a central focus. The current political environment encourages caution, and companies are still conducting research, development and demonstration (RD&D). _AAPG

In the US, companies can find it difficult to get permits for even the most rudimentary research into improved methods of oil shales in situ production or mining. As long as that is the case, energy producers will find it slow going to develop cleaner and more efficient methods of producing a more environmentally friendly shale oil product. In other words, should it become necessary to use this resource, we will use far more environmentally destructive processes -- thanks to the faux environmental regime of Obama - Salazar and its constraints on basic energy research.

Gigantic unconventional reserves lie virtually untapped across the planet. But the massive amounts of energy needed to get at them -- and hence, the greenhouse gases released -- is a thought that makes environmentalists bolt awake at night.

...The American Petroleum Institute right now is wracking its members' brains to figure out how to blast a substance called Kerogen from solid rock in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. If this modern-day alchemy proves commercially viable, the United States could begin exploiting crude oil reserves three times the size of Saudi Arabia's. Just never mind that turning Kerogen into fuel requires massive energy inputs -- code for greenhouse gases -- and up to 3.2 barrels of water for each barrel of shale oil.

That hasn't stopped the parched Middle Eastern country of Jordan from signing two major project agreements in the past three years. And recent reports indicate a third is coming soon. _Tyee

Yes, Jordan is another country besides Estonia that will not hesitate to use its oil shale kerogens in whatever way will help the country survive and prosper.

...Jordan, where Royal Dutch Shell is thinking so far out it has signed a contract with the authorities that has the potential, given contract renewals and so on, to last more than 100 years, according to Mr Shaw. The contract, signed in 2009, grants Shell exclusive oil shale exploration rights to a concession area, where it already is drilling for oil shale samples, analyzing them and developing a geological model of Jordan’s deep oil shale resources. Shell says, “There is still a lot to be learnt about the geology and nature of the Jordan oil shale resources” before a decision on a commercial project can be taken.

That is true, as it is about oil shale resources globally. Nonetheless, it already seems clear why the majors have never gotten caught up in the peak oil arguments. Given all the potential source rocks out there, and the industry’s record of technologial advancements, they are a long way from pronouncing the last drop of oil has been produced. _GWPF

A Series of articles on Oil Shale from Bit Tooth Energy

A set of papers covering various symposia on Colorado Oil Shale by the Colorado Energy Research Institute

Kerogens are simply precursors to petroleum which have not been sufficiently heat and pressure treated to make the conversion to crude oil and gas. But the use of nuclear reactor heat -- to finish the job -- for in situ oil shale extraction is likely to make a big difference in global hydrocarbon resources within the next 30 years. The coming wave of small modular reactors are likely to boost oil sands production in Canada, heavy oils in Venezuela, and oil shales in the US and elsewhere -- if the energy starvationists can ever be removed from positions of power and influence.

A Nascent Energy Boom in Oil Shale

SA

The US is sitting on more reserves of oil-equivalent than is likely to be found in the entire Persian Gulf. Under the Obama regime that is all the US will do -- sit on it. In a more rational post-Obama world, energy resources will be utilised. More from Alexander Smith:

Oil shale has been used as fuel and as a source of oil in small quantities for many years; however, few countries currently produce oil from oil shale on a significant commercial level - the US wants to change that.

Many countries do not have significant oil shale resources, but in the countries that do, the oil shale industry has been very slow to develop. This is because, until recently, the cost of oil derived from oil shale has been significantly higher than conventional pumped oil. The same principles apply in mining. Whenever something is deeper, or harder to get to, the costs go up. With that stated, new technologies and the quick disappearance of easy access oil has spurred a revival in this sector.

...The two most famous oil shale deposits in the United States, and the world for that matter, are the Green River Formation and the Bakken Oil Shale.

The Green River Formation consists of fine-grained sedimentary rocks which hold an exceptional amount of kerogen. Estimates have accounted for more than 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Green River Formation! It is vast and spreads across Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. However, close to 75% of the deposit is located on federally owned land which will make any production from private or public companies extremely difficult. In addition, the production process at the Green River Formation has many holes in its game, and production here has yet to occur.

The Bakken Oil Shale is spread across Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan. The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that up to 4.3 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil exists in the Bakken. Not the unbelievable 800 billion barrels of the Green River, but still nothing to shake a stick at. The Bakken is producing oil and gas and unlike the Green River Formation, it is primarily light sweet crude. Not all oil shales are overly expensive or complicated to produce.

...Major improvements in directional and horizontal drilling techniques, along with hydraulic fracturing methods, have revolutionized shale exploration and development in the United States.

...The depth of the shale resource is important in that there are economic and physical limits on horizontal drilling along with temperature constraints for the directional tools required to orient the well. So, the deeper true vertical depth (TVD) of the shale, the more problematic the well becomes.

Most operators are comfortable with a max true vertical depth of 14,000 ft and a max horizontal leg of 10,000 ft or less. A good average for shale wells currently drilled or drilling would be 9,000 ft total vertical depth and 4,000 ft laterals. So imagine a large pole being drilled 9000 feet down with an arm reaching out 4000 feet in any direction. You can imagine how this technique would allow them to penetrate huge areas below the surface from a single well bore and tap into resources what would otherwise remain uneconomic. The deeper TVD wells drilled are found in the Haynesville play and the longer lateral wells are currently attempted in the Bakken play. _SeekingAlpha

The Obama regime has adopted an intentional policy of energy starvation, applied to as many forms of energy as possible. The only forms of energy promoted by Obama are non-viable sources that are exorbitantly expensive -- such as wind and solar. The others -- coal, nuclear, gas, oil, oil shales, etc. have either been blocked or impeded by strangulating regulations, bureaucratic prohibitions and foot-dragging.

Energy starvation policies tend to kill economies, as we see in the US with the ongoing Obama depression. But sooner or later, Obama will be gone. And those who are closely associated with him will be largely discredited. At that point, the vast energy resources of North America will be tapped. Because the alternative is energy starvation. And you do not want to see that.

500 Billion Barrels of Oil Equivalent in Jordan's Oil Shale

JORDAN has over 0.59 trillion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of oil-shale reserves, says one of the companies trying to develop the resource. It is an estimate that could revolutionise the country's economy – and slash its dependence on energy imports.

And, suddenly, the resource could be viable at around $65 a barrel, making it profitable in the range in which international oil prices have traded in the past two years. Estonia's state-run Eesti Energia says it can produce Jordan's oil-shale economically, and cleanly, within seven years. _PetroleumEconomist

As with Canada's vast oil sands reasources, the enemy of oil shale development is low oil prices. As long as the price of oil stays in the vicinity of $80 a barrel, a world wide bonanza of new oil and oil-equivalent resources will be unleashed onto world markets -- and OPEC will have little to say about it.

While Jordan's oil shale resources are tiny in comparison to North American oil shale and oil sands resources, there is a significant difference -- the government of Jordan is not handicapped by a philosophy of energy starvation, nor is it under the influence of a faux environmental desire for a great human dieoff.orgy. Jordan will use its resources, if it is economical to do so.

Dr. Maher Hijazin, the Director General of The Natural Resources Authority, added, "The oil shale deposits are strategically important to Jordan's national energy policy. Through this concession, we have put in place the framework for future development of the oil shale industry. We strive to balance the benefits from commercial exploration of Jordan's natural resources with the need to ensure that the projects are conducted in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner." _Rigzone

Trillions of Barrels of Oil Equivalent Strain to Break Free

Source
For decades, the oil shales of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah have wanted to break free of the rocks, to provide the US with abundant -- trillions of barrels -- oil equivalent. But the kerogens of oil shale are tightly bound to the rock, and have not been easily or economically extractable until recently. General Synfuels International claims to have developed a clean, economical process for exploiting these trillions of barrels of oil-equivalent. But will Obama - Pelosi let them develop the fuels, even if they can?

General Synfuels International (GSI), a subsidiary of Earth Search Sciences, Inc., has formed the $10-million “Patriot’s Oil Shale Technology Fund L.P.”, to complete funding of the Phase 1 construction of a full-scale prototype oil shale plant under construction in Rock Springs, Wyoming.

The goal of this research and development type partnership is to prove the GSI Omnishale superheated air (SHA) in situ technology can recover large amounts of oil and gas products from American oil shale and oil sands in an inexpensive, economically viable and environmentally acceptable manner.

...In 2009, GSI secured an exploration agreement for lands in Wyoming and rights to a separate oil shale resource opportunity in Colorado. _GCC

For ideological reasons, the current Obama - Pelosi US government is dedicated to energy starvation -- the preventing of all large scale viable energy production in the US. But the US public is growing angry over the many suicidal policies of the O-P reich -- which are not consistent with many of the pre-election promises and public assurances of O-P.

If the US can find its way to energy abundance -- in spite of its horrifically ideologically inept government -- many of the underpinnings of the nanny state will collapse in the ensuing waves of economic prosperity.

US Number One in Total Fossil Fuel Proved Reserves

Image via Robert RapierAccording to this Congressional Research Service PDF report (via Robert Rapier), the US has more total fossil fuels resources proved reserves than any other nation. Russia is a close second, China is a distant third, and Saudi Arabia and Iran are an even more distant fourth and fifth, respectively.

Because proved reserves are, by definition, economically recoverable, the proportion of the oil inthe ground that qualifies as proved reserves grows when prices are high, and shrinks when prices are low. That is, even without new discoveries, oil that may be sub-economic at $30 per barrel becomes economic at $60 per barrel and so the total proved reserves increase simply because price increases. In addition to the volumes of proved reserves are deposits of oil and gas that have not yet been discovered, and those are called undiscovered resources.2 _PDFCongResServreport

Robert Rapier remarks how eventual oil production can be several times as high as "proved reserves" for any given oil field.

In 1982, U.S. reserves were 27.9 billion barrels. In 2005, U.S. reserves were 21.8 billion barrels. But over the course of that 24-year period we produced 57 billion barrels of oil and pulled our reserves down by only 6 billion barrels. _RobertRapier

Over a period of time, proved reserves can actually grow despite pumping large volumes of oil from a field -- due to new discoveries, new technologies for recovery, and natural repletion of fields mistakenly believed to be near exhaustion.

The price of energy also helps determine recoverable reserves, since the higher the price, the farther energy companies are willing to drill, dig, and explore to find new resources.  Peak oil doomsters are not intelligent enough to comprehend the complexity of the energy picture.  They often mistake increases in the price of oil that are due to a collapsing dollar, for shortages of oil from global depletion.  They are not a meaningful threat to a smooth transition into a post-fossil energy age.

The really good news? The report essentially ignores the trillions of barrels of shale oil and heavy oils known to exist in the western US. It also underestimates the quantity of oil, coal, and gas reserves known to exist in large new finds. In other words, the US is tops in fossil reserves without even trying. The really bad news? Obama is president, Pelosi is Speaker of the House, and both of them intend to starve the US into economic coma, for reasons and agendas of their own.

Obama Pelosi Boxer Killing US Energy Prospects

A modern economy rests upon abundant energy. If you cut off energy to an economy--like Obama, Pelosi, Boxer, Salazar and company are doing--you choke its economy. Around the US, energy Luddites in Congress and the incoming Obama administration are choking off the US' energy supply:

...yesterday, Evansville-based utility Vectren Corp. said uncertainty over potential federal carbon restrictions presented too much risk to commit to a 30-year contract to buy the gas. _Source

"Federal carbon restrictions presented too much risk..." Luddite anti-energy groups have a new friend in Obama to put alongside old friends Pelosi and Boxer.

The private sector is hunkering down, preparing to be set upon by Obama-empowered trial lawyers, unions, environmental lobbies, and activists of all stripes. Soon it will be open season on all large energy projects involving coal, nuclear, oil sands, oil shale, and quite possible biomass.

A brief visit to dieoff.org will explain much of the underlying philosophical basis of many of Obama's appointments, and the motivations of many left-leaning Congressional members. Carbon hysteria. Pseudo-environmental hyperbole and outright deception, for political and monetary gain.

The latest climate data suggests that the Earth is passing through a multi-decadal cooling phase. Climate model predictions are diverging wildly from actual observations. These anti-energy Luddites are helping to choke the US economy's life blood. These quasi automaton wrecking machines are so intent on their homicide that they are unaware that their philosophical underpinnings are collapsing.

They cannot invent, they cannot build, they cannot maintain. They can only destroy. An ideology fit only for opposition, not for leadership.

Peak Oil: Meet the Raytheon Oil Shale Microwave

US defense contractor and electronics company Raytheon has developed oil extraction technology that may send "Peak Oil" packing, for a decade or two. At least, giant oil and gas developer Schlumberger thinks so:

Much as a microwave oven heats food, Raytheon Co.‘s (NYSE:RTN) technology relies on microwaves to generate underground heat and melt a waxy substance in the shale called kerogen so it can be converted into oil...Carbon dioxide heated and pressurized into a liquid form is then used to extract the oil from the rock and carry it to a well.

Raytheon and oil companies began exploring ways to extract oil from shale decades ago, but many efforts were shelved in the 1980s as oil prices and supplies stabilized. Some projects _ including Raytheon‘s _ were revived in recent years because of spiking prices, technological improvements and hopes of decreasing U.S. dependency on foreign oil....Most of the attention is focused on oil shale reserves scattered across U.S. federal lands in Colorado, Utah and southwest Wyoming _ an area estimated to contain up to 1.8 trillion barrels of oil trapped in shale, or three times the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia.

Oilweek

This technology can also be used for extracting oil from tar sands in Canada, and for extracting heavy oils.

The RF/CF combination is more economical and environmentally responsible than older oil shale extraction techniques as it uses less power, does not severely disrupt the landscape or leave behind residue that can enter groundwater supplies....For tar sands and heavy oil, the Raytheon process could yield 10 to 15 barrels of oil equivalent per barrel consumed, due to the lower heating temperatures required. When applied in tar sands, the combined RF/CF technology performs a mild upgrading in-situ, yielding an attractive light sweet crude oil. The process is “tunable”, facilitating production of various product slates.

The use of RF technology in shale processing would enable the fuel to be extracted from the earth in only one to two months. In-ground heating methods that do not employ radio waves, by contrast, require three to four years to replicate the natural conversion process.

Green Car Congress

While efforts to produce sustainable biofuels are gearing up, the ability to economically and cleanly produce petroleum from regional deposits (oil shales and tar sands) should make the necessary transition to renewable energy easier.

Peak oil doom is looking more and more like an adolescent fantasy.