Energy source ­ Oil Shale

Classification Non renewable fossil fuel Oil shale is a non renewable fossil fuel because it is a finite resource and can’t be re­made, re­grown, or regenerated. In fact, all fossil fuels (for example, crude oil, coal, tar sands) are all non renewable resources.

Players Main deposits around the globe: ­ United states of America; Colorado, Wyoming, Utah. ­ More than 70% of the oil shales are nearby the Green

River Formation (US) ­ Estonia, Russia, Brazil and China are also leading

producers of oil shale Where is shale oil mined?

­ One of the greatest mine worldwide is located in Estonia (Eastern Europe).

­ When oil shale first began being exploited, France was a main player for its industrialisation thanks to its first oil shale mines. (Around 1837).

­ Now is very exploited in Western America and also contain considerable amounts of barrels in this region.

Oil shale industry spread to: ­ Brazil ­ Estonia ­ China

­ partly, Germany as well as Russia ­ USA

http://oilandenergyinvestor.com/2013/07/the­shale­oil­boom­is­going­global­starting­with­this­huge­deal­in­argentina/

Availability

Shale oil has a high availability around the globe →

­ rather cheap resource: 1 barrel of oil (158.987295 litres) would equivelant around to 70­95 US dollars. (According to a survey the RAND Corporation led on)

­ but still more expensive than petroleum, coal and natural gas because harder and more delicate process while mining oil shale.

­ around 2.8 → 3.3 trillion barrels of shale oil is deposited globally each day.

http://alfin2300.blogspot.be/2012/03/gallery­of­world­hydrocarbon­endowment.html Green River Formation (example of a important fossil fuel exploiter) 3 bassins along the edges of the Green River in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. One of Earth’s most important fossil fuel sites.

Leading producers of Oil Shale (2008):

­ graph explores different shale exploiting countries and

their exploitation rate ­ the graph demonstrates the highest exploiter, China

(mined up to<45 million tonnes) and the country that has been using this resource for the longest amount of time, China as well (since 1935­2010).

­ the graph shows the less important exploiter within the 8 most using countries which is Scotland (stagnates>5 million tonnes mined).

­ the graph shows the country within the 8 most important users that has until 2010 depended the less on shale oil, Brazil (from 1975­2010, important mining rate).

Advantages 1) Availability/Reliable resource: Because we are not near the exhaustion of this resource, its availability is high as to its reliability to use it for everyday life activities.

­ cars, planes, and most transportation depend on oil shale.

­ “interruption in supply in this energy to the US, I think would be a very destructive to our ability to provide service and actually keep the economy growing.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz148W0Gxe4, educational video on oil shale in general in the US)

2) Economical Advantage: Article on the benefits of oil shale http://www.shale­gas­information­platform.org/what­are­the­benefits.html

­ profound positive impact =

­ creates jobs ­ reduces the prices of natural gas and electricity

→ stimulates economic growth ­ increases taxes and states revenues

Altogether revolutionised the world (especially America) because of its numerous advantages.

http://www.economist.com/news/special­report/21573279­shale­gas­and­oil­bonanza­transforming­americas­energy­outlook­and­boosting­its Graph discusses the decrease in shale gas prices which diminues the prices of electricity which has a positive impact on economy to a worldwide scale.

Disadvantages 1) Expensive production = expensive cost Although oil shale is available around the globe, its production costs are high which consequently makes the customers price, high as well.

­ production of oil shale is a delicate and long process,

which increases its prices (seen on schema above) ­ therefore, costly for the population ­ poorest may not have access to this

(http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/oilshale/, oil shale guide. Look at part Oil Shale Mining and Processing for relevant information about economic impacts)

2) Pollution “Oil shale development is unsupportable because it will create far more problems than it will solve.” (http://www.westernresourceadvocates.org/land/oilshalevalues.php)

­ strong pollution settlement in Western America ­ leads to less turism → connects to a negative economic

impact ­ contributes to climate change (example: less snow in

the West, less water supply for the West) ­ contributes to scarce of wildlife ­ no actual solution found for this rate of pollution,

becomes an international problem. ­ creates health issues →

http://www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/hydraulic_fracturing_101

Bibliography: http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/oilshale/ https://www.dur.ac.uk/unconventionals/topics/shale_oil/ http://www.solarschools.net/resources/stuff/non_renewable_energy.aspx http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/oilshale/ http://www.rand.org/pubs/periodicals/rand­review/issues/fall2005/energy2.html

http://www.shale­gas­information­platform.org/what­are­the­benefits.html http://www.westernresourceadvocates.org/land/oilshalevalues.php https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz148W0Gxe4