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<br />402:1 <br /> <br />RUEDl DAM AKD RESERVOIR, COLO. <br /> <br />.77 <br /> <br />Ow,,.ent world picture <br />The oil shale industries of the world are resurgent. Sweden now is <br />expanding its output of shale oil production 80 percent. Oil shale is <br />the prinCIpal source of Sweden's sulfur and ammonia us well as its <br />only domestic source of oil. <br />Spain has a new oil shale operation g-eal'ed principally to the pro- <br />duction of lubrieants. Hussia reportedly is expnndmg shale oil and <br />shale gas outpnt. in satellite Est.onia. A new lO,OOO-barrel-per-day <br />plant has been annollnced at }\:och.tla Jarwe, and Russian technical <br />j?UrllH Is for several years, have been reporting on research. in the field of <br />OJ I sha Ie. <br />Fur about, 10 yeal's, Brazil has conducted research and development <br />work leading toward utilization of its exten::;i\'e oil shale resources. <br />A large commercial operation within the next few years seem:; likely. <br />Elsewhere, new oil sha.le projects hu.ve been anllotUlced or in\'est,iga- <br />tilJlls are in progress-Thailand. Australia, Belgian Congo, Yugo- <br />slavia-almost.e\'erywllen>.lthatoil :-;hale is knowll to exist. <br /> <br />Rec(mt oil shale activilie8 in the [}l1i-fer! States <br />The enrrel)t era of interest in oil shale in the United States beg'fLIl <br />during World 'Val' II. 'lIld has cont.iIllH'C' wit.hout, interrllpt.ion. Ae- <br />tivitirs mainly have been resenrch nnd development on improved <br />mining, retort.ing, :pld refining metbocls and.in the acquisition of oil <br />:=;hal.e properties. 'Yater filings also have Leen made by se\eral COIll- <br />rallies. <br />With the exception of the naval oil shale reserves near Hille, the <br />most. accessible oil shale lands tire privately owned. A majority of <br />the major oil companies lUlve shale holdings. Several are inci'easing <br />thE'.ir reserves and some already may be measured ill the billions of <br />bn rrels. <br />During the past. 15 years, the Federal Go\"err.unent, private com- <br />panies, and individuals have spent about $50 ~illion on oil. sha.le. <br />:\fore than half of these expenditures were bJ pl'lvute compa.mes llnd <br />indiyidun]s. Resenrch by bot.h Government. and industry 011 llew <br />methods of shale oil production and utilization has obtained outstnnd.. <br />lug results. <br />The teehnology is st.raig-ht.forw~rd. , The shale first, must be mine.d, <br />thew subjeeted. to a heat.mg process (retorting) to dist.ill from it a <br />crude oil, and, finnlly, Lhe oil must ~ refined to usable products. <br />.A low-cost mining method (t(bpted to certain fu\'ora.ble cha.ra.cteris- <br />tks of the Colorndo oil shale deposit,s has been de.\'eloped ,md de.mon- <br />st.rated in two large-scale experimental mines, one operated privately. <br />A ]:1rge mining concern is eOllducting additiunal experimental work <br />on t.he method. <br />~.;. ,~;,Two outstanding new retorting. pI'oces~es ha.ve been demonstrated on <br />_ ~"i~'.pilot-plant scale, ~Hle resulting from the Governmellfs r~e.arch pro- <br />. .gram, the other pI"lvately finaneed. The latter process IS III an ad- <br />,iftnced stag~. f.. de.velopment.~ having b(~en successfuI.IY ol)erated at a <br />capacit.)' ap ,; a~lllng tlmt of a. commercial-sized I'e~or~ (1,000 tons <br />per day)... ..'. . .~.. , <br />Sh:tle 011 re rung research has been .alded greatly .py'lleW processes <br />develo\)ed to r~fine high-sulfur c.ruc1e OIls. Refining lilethous are com- <br />mercia ly a\TallnLle to COIl\.et't. crude shale oil to gasoline, jet fuel, <br /> <br />. <br />I ilii.'!,f <br />~' <br />