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An Assessment of Oil Shale Technologies (Part 6 Of — —— CHAPTER 4 Background Contents Page Page Introduction . 85 Status of U.S. Oil Shale Projects . ..........113 The Need for a New Energy Supply System. , . 85 The Purpose and Organization of This Chapter 86 Chapter 4 References. ..................114 Oil Shale Resources . 87 The Genesis of Oil Shale. 87 List of Tables Worldwide Deposits . 87 Table No. Page Deposits in the United States . 88 13. Potential Shale Oil in Place in the Oil Description of the Oil Shale Resource Region. 93 Shale Deposits of theUnited States . 89 Location . 93 14 Potential Shale Oil in Place in the Green Topography and Geology. 93 River Formation: Colorado, Utah, and Climate and Meteorology. 99 Wyoming . 91 Plants and Animals. ... , . .. ....100 15 Potential Shale Oil Resources of the Air and Water Quality and Economic Base. .. 103 Green River Formation . 92 16. Composition and Pyrolysis Products of Oil Shale Products and Their Potential Typical Colorado Oil Shale . 106 Applications . .. ...105 17. Status of MajorU.S. Oil Shale Projects. 114 The Nature of Oil Shale . .................105 Kerogen Pyrolysis. .. 105 List of Figures Associated Minerals. ..................107 The History of Oil ShaleDevelopment. .. ....108 Figure No, Page Scotland . ............................,108 12. Oil Shale Deposits of the United States. 89 Sweden . ................,..108 13. Oil Shale Deposits of the Green River France . ................,......109 Formation . 90 Spain . ......................109 14. The Oil Shale Resource Region of the Germany . .......................109 Green River Formation: Colorado, Utah, South Africa ..,.... ...................109 and Wyoming. 94 Australia. .,...... ....................109 15. Major Mountain Systems in the Vicinity United States, . .....................,.110 of the Green River Formation . 95 16. Topographic Relief of the piceance Status of Foreign Oil Shale Industries . .111 Basin, Colo,. 96 Morocco . 111 17. Stratigraphy and Landform Units Along Soviet Union . ..........................111 Parachute Creek,Piceance Basin, Colo. 97 People’s Republic of China. .....,..,.....112 18. Idealized Cross Section of the Piceance Brazil. ...,..... ......................112 Basin, Colo. 98 CHAPTER 4 Background Introduction The United States has obtained energy for hydroelectric dams, nuclear powerplants, human comfort, security, and productivity geothermal sources, biomass, and other ener- from a variety of sources over the past 200 gy resources. Wood, once the principal ener- years. The availability of energy was instru- gy source for the Nation, was used largely by mental in its transformation from a largely some lumber mills and wood-processing facil- agricultural society until the late 18th cen- ities. tury to a major industrial power in the 20th. During all of the 18th century and early The Need for a New Energy 19th, human muscles and those of beasts of Supply System burden did most of the useful work. Through- out this period, wood was the primary fuel, In 1973, Arab oil exporting nations insti- supplemented by relatively small amounts of tuted an embargo against the United States coal, coal oil, whale oil, mechanical energy and other nations that supported Israel. Re- from falling water, and kerosene derived duced petroleum availability was followed by from natural petroleum seeps. By the middle a recession that lasted through 1974 and into of the 19th century, coal had become the 1975. As a consequence, energy consumption chief fuel and dominated the Nation’s energy declined slightly, bottoming out at about 71 supply system for about a hundred years. Quads in 1975. By 1976, energy demand had Petroleum-based fuels and natural gas en- returned to its 1973 level of about 74.5 tered the picture after 1859, the year in Quads/yr. It has continued to rise, although which the first commercial oil well was somewhat less rapidly than prior to the em- drilled in Pennsylvania. The use of petroleum bargo. grew rapidly. It was further accelerated by the arrival of the automobile age in the early In 1978, approximately 78 Quads of energy 1900’s. Natural gas, which was originally were consumed in the United States—the burned or vented as a waste product from oil equivalent of 13.4 billion bbl of fuel oil. wells, became a major fuel for domestic, com- Energy supply patterns had altered slightly since 1972. In 1978, petroleum supplied about mercial, and industrial heating by the end of 48 percent of the energy, natural gas about World War II. 25 percent, and coal about 18 percent. Geo- By the middle of the 20th century, oil and thermal and biomass use had increased sub- gas had become the leading sources of energy stantially, but these resources, together with in the United States, having displaced coal nuclear and hydropower, still provided only because of their convenience. In 1972, ac- about 9 percent of the Nation’s energy. cording to the Department of Energy (DOE), It is likely that energy consumption will the Nation’s economy consumed approxi- continue to rise until conservation strategies mately 72 Quads of energy from primary of which approximately 46 percent are adopted by all sectors of the economy. If sources, * historical growth trends for energy consump- was obtained from petroleum, 32 percent tion are followed, the annual energy con- from natural gas, and 17 percent from coal. Relatively small amounts were supplied by sumption will reach 135 Quads by the year 2000-the equivalent of over 23 billion bbl of fuel oil per year or nearly twice the 1978 con- *One Quad equals 1 quadrillion ( 101 Btu. A primary energy source is one that may be converted to another form prior to sumption. Actual consumption should be con- end use. Coal burned for power genera t ion is an example. siderably lower, because energy demand is 85 86 ● An Assessment of 01/ Shale Technologies now growing more slowly than in the past. sion. Other, less tangible effects (such as Conservation should slow it down further. threats to national security and the social Several implications may be drawn from and economic impacts of supply disruptions), this discussion. First, the United States con- although more difficult to quantify may prove sumes enormous amounts of energy. (The to be much more significant. It has become 1978 consumption was equivalent to over apparent that an energy supply system needs 2,500 gal of fuel oil per citizen per year, ) Sec- to be evolved that is more appropriate to the ond, energy demand will continue to rise in Nation’s present and projected needs and in- the near future. Third, the Nation runs on ternal resources. Just as wood was displaced fossil fuel, with petroleum satisfying nearly by coal, coal by domestic petroleum and gas, 50 percent of the total energy demand. and domestic petroleum by imported oil, it ap- pears that imported energy must be replaced This last implication is crucial because it by new sources of domestic energy. appears that the United States no longer has An initial step in developing a new energy adequate petroleum reserves of its own. New supply system should involve formulating a petroleum discoveries peaked in the 1950’s. Domestic oil production followed suit in about comprehensive policy that reduces demand through conservation, increases availability 1970, except for the fields in Alaska and on from domestic resources, and restricts im- the Continental Shelf. Domestic discoveries ports. Conservation must be an important ele- are increasing, at present, because of higher ment of any such policy. However, there are oil prices, but it is unlikely that sufficient U.S. reserves exist to provide secure supplies be- limits to the savings that can be accomplished yond the end of the 20th century. Because of through conservation. Thus, it appears that it the inability of domestic petroleum develop- will be necessary to develop new energy re- ment to keep pace with growing demands for sources. Potential sources include additional liquid fuels, the United States has become in- reserves of conventional oil and gas, en- creasingly dependent on imported oil. In hanced oil recovery, expanded coal develop- 1978, the United States imported nearly 24 ment, solar-thermal and photovoltaics, wind percent of its total energy supply and nearly energy, tidal energy, ocean thermal gradi- 45 percent of its requirement for crude oil ents, increased nuclear fission for power gen- and refined petroleum products. A barrel of eration, nuclear fusion, biomass combustion, imported petroleum now costs five to six and the recovery of synthetic liquid and gas- times as much as it did in 1972. eous fuels by the conversion of coal, tar sands, biomass, and oil shale. The challenge The short-term reliability of imported oil is to derive optimal combinations of these supplies is very uncertain, as exemplified by sources which, when coupled with conserva- disruptions arising from the Suez crisis of tion and restricted imports, will provide suffi- 1956, the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, the Arab cient energy for future economic growth and oil embargos of 1973 and 1974, and the pres- development, while simultaneously protecting ent Iranian situation. Long-term reliability is the Nation’s physical and social environ- also questionable because worldwide oil pro- ments. duction is expected to peak within the next few decades and to decline rapidly there- The Purpose and Organization after. Eventually, it may be impossible to im- port oil at any price. of This Chapter Growing reliance on increasingly scarce As noted in the Introduction to this report, and
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