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<br />lakes~lake Go...iule, \\hich covered southern Wvo-
<br />ming. and lakE' Uintah, which covered Colorado and
<br />Utah~and the rising 01 the Rockv Mountains com.
<br />binE'd to form the largest oil-shale deposit in the world.
<br />As the mountain<, began to form, these lakes \\t're (ut
<br />on and leit to become stagnant. Over the next 10
<br />million vears. biolic remains (dead plants .lnd .mimals)
<br />mixed with (Ia\' and sand .It th(' bottom 01 the shrink-
<br />ing lakes. Volcanic ash and rocks torn loo..{> tram the
<br />newly-forming mountains covered thi.. OOZE>. \\'hen
<br />the Idke.. disappeart'd, pool.. of crude oil and gas were
<br />leU in some area.., but the E'arth.... up\\ard movement
<br />lelt most 0' Ihe organic material in the form of ker-
<br />ogen.
<br />Today thi.. region i.. known as thl' Gre-en River
<br />formation, alb,500-square-milf' area cove-ring the
<br />connecling cornNS ot Colorado. W\oming and Utah.
<br />The ",hales 01 Ihe region contain dn eslim.ltt'CJ 1.8
<br />trillion bJrrf'l... 01 oil. an amount Ihal far OV('f<,hMlow..
<br />the oil re.,erw'.. in the Middle Ea..t. Approximatelv 1:!9
<br />billion barrels 01 thi" oil i.. iound in currenth mineable
<br />zones with more Ih.1n 30 gallon" 01 oil per Ion oi ..hale.
<br />The riche..t ..halt' deposits are lound in Colorado....
<br />Piceance Creek Basin, a 1 ,380-square-mile arpa ranging
<br />over Gdriield and Rio Blanco countie....
<br />Although the United St..lI('" hold.. the large."t oil-
<br />shale depo."il.... il \....1... not the first counlrv to produce
<br />shale oil. In 1350, Au..tria produfpd medicinal oillrom
<br />it.. Sh.ll(";,. In 169..L lh(' Engli..h gOH'rnnlt'nl recorded d
<br />palent grantpd 10 distill "ovl~' irom d kind of ..lOot....
<br />Bl'iort> t900. AU'ttralia, BrdZil. Canada. Francl.'", ;'\;l'W
<br />Z(>aland and Scotland .111 had produced oil irom oil
<br />"hale. And toda\, Ru.,..ia, Chind and Brazil all have
<br />oil-..hale operation...
<br />
<br />A century of oil.shale booms-
<br />and busts
<br />
<br />In the United Stall'''' oil..hale\\a.. lir"t ~nO\\n as "the
<br />r()c~ thaI burn..... b\ Ihi;' Ute Indidn.... Ouring the i;'Mh
<br />1800s~"om(' ",1\ a" earl\ a.. R('volutionaf\ time...-the
<br />INn ..hales 01 \pfl.llachia \\('rt' u"ed 10 produ("(' lamp..
<br />oil lubricanb and ..omt' m(>dieint'". Tht, 1850s ...1\\ the
<br />jirsl lal~ oi an "oil...hale- boom" in tht' countn, and a
<br />plant on the Ohio river .1cluall\ went into opt'ralion.
<br />But in 18SQ Col. E. l. Dr,l~l"" iamous oil \\pll nl:'ar
<br />Tllu..\ille. P.1 <.lartpd tht> oil boom and rut a ...top to
<br />talk 01 an oil...halt' boom.
<br />
<br />~...
<br />..};.
<br />
<br />This pattern was to repeat llsell throughout the
<br />19nO.,. Everv time oil shale carne In the verge of
<br />commercial de\dopment, discoveries ot nt'W oil fields
<br />pu...hed iI bac~ onlo Ih", sheli. For e,ample, in 1915. a
<br />U. S. Geological Sur....ev team reporlt'd that 20 billion
<br />barrels oi oil were to be iound in the Rockv \\ountain...
<br />A wild oil-shale land rush iollo\\ed. More than 30.000
<br />mining claims were tiled on 't'derallv-owned oil-..hale
<br />land and nl'arl\ 200 oil-..hale corpor"llions were
<br />iorml'd. 5t'\'f'ral oil-...hale opNation.. acluallv got un-
<br />dema\ before the di.,coverv 01 the Ea"I Texa.. oil fields
<br />took the starch oul ot the oil ..haler'" .,ail...
<br />Over tht. pa...t <'everal decade.. oil shale- ha... been
<br />repealedl\ procldimed "at the verge oj den'lopme-nt,"
<br />hut dp"pitP se\eral notable t'xperimenh, development
<br />h.l.. never corne. Cht'aper crude oil "ourcp". gO\l'rn-
<br />ment ind{'{ision and "u"picion... ot ..candal.. have k('pt
<br />the oil in the shale, untillOda~'. Now plann('rs tor Ihe
<br />govt'fnment and nearlv 30 major oil companie" Me
<br />wrinu..h involvl'd in oil....halp proje(I>;.
<br />\Vhv tod.w? InlPrpst in oil ...h.lle has been growing
<br />"'eddil\' tor Ihp pa..t dNac!p, but the (urn'nl t'nt'rgv
<br />ni..i;, hol.. applied the ..pur.. 10 df'velopml'nt. A growing
<br />(h.mand ior oil balancl'd ag<linst <l diminishing supplv
<br />01 dome...tic crude nil, a malor caU"'l' oi today's shorl4
<br />aw'", i" thl.' hi...torir incentin' ror oil-"hale production.
<br />Economics also playa part in Ihe new oil-;,hale boom.
<br />Arcording to most oil-companv e-xpert.., toda\', ior the
<br />iir...l time, oil "h.Jll' is beginning to look like- a profit-
<br />ma!.pr. "AI cun!'nl price;, then' \\ould be enou~h
<br />l'conomie inrt'nlivt' 10 go into commprcial production,
<br />with a dependable prQ(t''''','' ;,av.. Harf\' PiorzheimN,
<br />\'ife pre"ident 01 Sohia Pelroleum CO.,.l "uh..idian ot
<br />tht> Standard Oil Cn. (Ohio) and progr.lm director oi
<br />thp P.1raho Oil Shale Demonqralion. So more th.1n 100
<br />\par.. Jill'[ the lirsl U. S. oil-sh.1lf' pl.lOt \\enl into
<br />production, major oil (ompdnie.. nO\\ Me gearing up
<br />\\ ilh modern tE'chnlqut's to get thl' oil nut oi the shale.
<br />And tht' tl'dN.l1 gmernnwnl ha... oppnpd .,ix oil.."hale
<br />rich public-l.lOd Iran" lor leasing to private companie...
<br />Bid... ior lhe"e- tralt" are running into the million" oi
<br />dollar".
<br />Thpre i., anothl'r ~connmif incpntl\f' invol\t'd. The
<br />energ\ (f1...j" alread\ is ..('riou..h ailf'ctlng the econom-
<br />ic... 01 Am~rica, and lhl' world. Result: an admini..trative
<br />c,111 lor t'nerg\ "t'lt-..urticit'nn and d tt'deral deri..ion
<br />Ihdl oil ~hale will pla\ a part in r~'a(hing Ihat goal.
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<br />"t(l;lIVI \\bl !If'''(H<;\''N~ IDITIO... ".hru.'.... 1<144 i
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