Organic-Rich Shale of the United States and World Land Areas Organic-Rich Shale of the United States and World Land Areas
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GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 523 Organic-Rich Shale of the United States and World Land Areas Organic-Rich Shale of the United States and World Land Areas By Donald C. Duncan and Vernon E. Swanson Geological Survey Circular 523 Washington 7965 United States Department of the Interior STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary Geological Survey William T. Pecora, Director REPRINTED 1966 Free on application to the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. 20242 CONTENTS Page Page Abstract----- _ ____________ _ ____ 1 Shale oil resources Continued Introduction- ______________ _ _____ 1 North America Continued Acknowledgments __ ____________ _ 2 United States Continued Previous summaries______________ 2 Shale associated with coal ______ 14 Definitions _______________________ 2 Other shale deposits _ ______ 15 Organic -rich shale _____________ 2 Total shale oil resources.---- 16 Oil shale __ ____ __ ___ __ 3 Other areas in North America ____ 16 Other terms ___________________ 3 Africa-___--__-_-_----_--_----_--- 17 Types of deposits_________________ 4 Total shale oil resources of Potential energy, oil, or gas yield of Africa _______________________ 17 the organic matter in shale ______ 4 Asia _________ _ _____ ___ 19 Status of the shale industry ________ 5 China __________________ _ 19 World production _______________ 5 Israel, Jordan, and Syria _________ 19 Byproducts ____________________ 5 Siberia _________________________ 20 Activities in the United States ____ 5 Thailand and Burma-_____________ 20 Classification of resources ________ 5 Turkey ________ _____ _ 20 Known resources _______________ 6 Total shale oil resources of Asia__ 21 Possible extensions of known Australia and New Zealand _________ 21 resources ___________________ Total shale oil resources _________ 21 Undiscovered and unappraised Europe _________-___--__----_--_-- 21 resources ___________________ Balkan Peninsula and adjacent Total resources ________________ areas ________________________ 22 Recoverable resources__________ Franee _________________________ 22 Marginal and submarginal Germany _____________ ______ 23 resources ______ _ ___________ Great Britain ___________________ 23 Total resources of organic -rich Italy, Austria^and Switzerland----- 24 Luxembourg ____________________ 24 Shale oil resources __________________ 8 Russia _______________ __- 24 North America ____________________ 10 Spain and Portugal- ________-- 25 United States. __ __ __ _____ __ _ 10 Sweden______--___--_-----__---- 25 Green River Formation, Total shale oil resources of Colorado, Utah, and Europe_________-__--_---_---- 25 Wyoming ___________________ 10 South America __-___--_____-___--- 26 Devonian and Mississippian Total shale oil resources of shale, Central and Eastern South America __ ________ __ 27 United States, __________ __ __ 13 References cited ____ ______ ______ 27 Marine shale, Alaska '__________ 14 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1. Map showing principal reported oil-shale deposits of the world _______________ 8 2. Map showing principal reported oil-shale deposits of the United States ________-: n 3. Map showing distribution of oil shale in the Green River Formation, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming ___________________-_-_______-__---_--_-------------- 12 III IV CONTENTS TABLES Page Table 1. Order of magnitude of total stored energy in organic-rich shale of the United States and principal land areas of the world_______ - ______________ 7 2. Shale oil resources of the United States _ _______ __ __ __ __ _____ 9 3. Shale oil resources of the world land areas __ __ _ __ __ ____ ___ 18 Organic-Rich Shale of the United States and World Land Areas By Donald C. Duncan and Vernon E. Swanson ABSTRACT Resources of organic-rich shale extending to maximum depths of 20,000 feet are estimated statistically in this report. A review of organic-rich shale deposits in the United States By this method the deposits in theUnited States are estimated and world land areas was conducted to estimate the energy to contain an order of magnitude of 72 trillion tons of organic and oil potential of these little-used resources. matter, which has an energy potential of 1,900 Q (10 18 Btu), or an alternative potential yield of about 170 trillion barrels Organic-rich shale is defined as fine-textured sedimentary of oil. An inventory of known oil-shale resources of the rock containing 5-65 percent combustible organic matter. United States includes 80 billion barrels of oil equivalent in The total organic content and the total thermal energy ob parts of higher grade accessible deposits that are considered tainable by combustion of the shale are estimated in grade recoverable under present conditions. About 2.1 trillion categories of units containing 10-65 percent organic matter barrels of oil equivalent in known lower grade or less ac and 5-10 percent organic matter. These shale deposits can cessible oil-shale deposits is considered marginal or sub- be made to yield oil or combustible gas by unconventional marginal resources. The possible extensions of the known experimental methods such as hydrogenolysis of the organic oil-shale deposits contain an order of magnitude of 3.2 tril matter. The total resources of oil thus technically extractable lion barrels oil equivalent. Undiscovered and unappraised from organic-rich shale are estimated in grade categories of organic-rich shale deposits that can be made to yield more units yielding more than 25 gallons per ton, 10-25 gallons than 10 gallons of oil per ton by one method or another are per ton, and 5-10 gallons per ton. The estimates are for oil believed to contain about 23 trillion barrels oil equivalent. equivalent in the deposits. The combustible gas potential of Very low grade organic-rich shale, which yields 5-10 gallons some deposits is considered, but a full inventory is not of oil per ton, contains approximately 140 trillion barrels attempted. oil equivalent. Oil shale is defined as organic-rich shale that yields oil Organic-rich shale deposits of the world land areas (includ in substantial amounts by conventional destructive distilla ing the United States) contain an order of magnitude of 900 tion methods, such as those used by established industries. trillion tons of organic matter, which has an energy potential For purposes of the study the range of oil yield of deposits of about 24,000 Q (1018 Btu). These deposits have an alterna that are considered oil shale is from 10 to more than 100 tive potential yield of more than 2 quadrillion barrels of oil. gallons per ton of rock, corresponding to the range in grade An inventory of the known world shale oil resources includes of deposits used in oil shale industries. The shale oil re 190 billion barrels oil equivalent recoverable under approx sources of the known deposits and their possible extensions imately present conditions and more than 3.1 trillion barrels are estimated in grade categories of units that yield more in place in marginal and submarginal oil-shale deposits. The than 25 gallons per ton and units that yield 10-25 gallons possible extensions of known oil-shale deposits contain an per ton. The oil equivalent in some lower grade shale units order of magnitude of 10.6 trillion barrels oil equivalent; that yield 5-10 gallons per ton by conventional assay are undiscovered and unappraised organic-rich shale deposits also estimated, but such rock is considered too low grade to that can be made to yield oil, by one method or another in be classed as oil shale at present. amounts greater than 10 gallons per ton, contain an order of magnitude of 325.trillion barrels oil equivalent. Approximately Oil-shale and other organic-rich shale deposits are widely 1.7 quadrillion barrels oil equivalent is estimated in very distributed in unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks ranging low grade organic-rich shale which yields 5 10 gallons of in age from Cambrian to Tertiary. The major world deposits oil per ton. were formed in large marine embayments or basins and in in large lake basins. Some of the individual deposits are Details of these estimates are contained in discussions many thousands of square miles in extent and are interpreted of the resources of the United States and six continental to contain trillions of barrels of oil equivalent. Many deposits land areas. formed in smaller bodies of water and associated with coal- bearing rocks contain individually from about 1 million to a few billion barrels of oil equivalent. INTRODUCTION Oil-shale industries were developed in Europe in the 19th century and have since operated on a small scale in parts of Fine-grained sedimentary rocks contain Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia where petroleum was in ing substantial amounts of combustible or short or uncertain supply. Estimated world production from about 1850 to 1961 totaled about 400 million barrels from an ganic matter constitute an enormous low- assortment of deposits of varied size and grade. Shale from grade source of potential energy. Thus far, a few deposits is used as solid fuel or as the source from which combustible gas is produced. such deposits have been used as sources of ORGANIC-RICH SHALE OF THE UNITED STATES AND WORLD LAND AREAS synthetic oil and combustible gas or as solid shale and cannel coal published by The In fuel only on a small scale, but their use is stitute of Petroleum (1938, 1951), Cadman expected to increase in the future as methods (1948), Guthrie and Thorne (1954), Jaffe of mining and processing are developed and (1962), and Thorne, Stanfield, Dinneen, and improved. The deposits included in this in Murphy (1962). Summaries covering parts of ventory vary widely in composition of or oil shale and black shale resources of the ganic matter and in mineral content. The United States include reports by Winchester group of deposits as a whole is herein desig (1923, 1928), U.S. Bureau of Mines (1960), nated 'organic-rich shale," and selected U.S. Geological Survey (1951), Rubel (1955), parts of these deposits that yield oil in sub Duncan (1958), Swanson (1960), and Shultz stantial amounts by conventional destructive (1962).