Peak Oil is You
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Page added on September 9, 2011
Is oil shale the next energy game-changer?
Peak oil remains the subject of great debate but there is little doubt we have reached the peak for cheap oil. It is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to extract enough conventional oil to maintain global output at its current level of around 87m barrels a day.
Technological advances have transformed the natural gas market through the development of horizontal drilling and fracture stimulation, which releases gas from tightly-held shale reservoirs. It is hoped that new technology could similarly transform oilshale into a plentiful source of liquid fuels.
Oilshale is a sedimentary rock that contains kerogen, an ‘immature’ oil that hasn’t been subjected to enough temperature and pressure to convert fully into hydrocarbons. Geologists believe there could be three trillion barrels of oilshale globally, which would dwarf the 1.5 trillion barrels of remaining oil reserves. Oilshale is not a new discovery; it has been mined extensively in countries such as Brazil, China, Estonia and Russia. However, extracting the fuel has historically been costly and environmentally harmful.
Retorts and in-situ are the traditional techniques for extracting oilshale. The retorts technique mines the shale then heats it to extract oil. This is problematic due to the high carbon dioxide output and high capital cost. The in-situ process involves heating oilshale underground using electric probes. But it can take two to three years to reach optimum temperature and there is also the potential for oil pollution into the surrounding area.
In an evolution of these processes, TomCo Energy plans to use an in-capsule “EcoShale” technology that combines surface mining with sub-surface retorts. The process uses a clay capsule where waste can be contained and recycles excess gas to speed up the heating process. EcoShale has been found to produce two-thirds lower carbon emissions than traditional retorts and, critically, can produce oil at a competitive $40 a barrel.
5 Comments on "Is oil shale the next energy game-changer?"
Simon on Fri, 9th Sep 2011 2:44 pm
Oh goody – we are saved!
:rolleyes:
Bob Owens on Fri, 9th Sep 2011 4:38 pm
We can’t possibly use this oil even if the environmental impact in extracting it is zero. The burning of it in our cars alone would poison the planet. This stuff is a no-win deal no matter what we do. Give up the dreams!
pike on Fri, 9th Sep 2011 8:17 pm
Oil shale is certainly the solution. Hitler’s finial solution.
Graham on Sat, 10th Sep 2011 2:08 am
Is oil shale the next energy game changer?
HELL NO!
James A. Hellams on Sat, 10th Sep 2011 3:12 pm
Shale oil is not going to come to the rescue like you might think it would.
As this article points out, it takes an enormous amount of work and energy to extract the oil from the shale.
To just begin the process, requires an enormous amount of work and energy to mine the shale. This is a process that must go on continuously.
Then, after mining the shale, enormous amounts of heat energy are needed to retort the oil out of the shale. This, too, is a process that must go on continuously.
After all is said and done, the NET energy output of the shale oil mining and processing will be much less than the 3 trillion barrels claimed in the article.
Thus, shale oil is many times more energy and cost intensive than simply drilling a hole in the ground, and installing a pump.