3 a1t)Iirccs)llhi Sr nt]hetic fneis OIL SHALE 0 COAL o OIL SANDS VOLUME 18 - NUMBER 2 JUNE 1981 QUARTERLY c0 0 : ty J - - g r Of Mines ROCKY MOUNTAIN DIVISION ®THE PACE COMPANY CONSULTANTS & ENGINEERS, INC. ® Rcg. U.S. P.I. OFF. Cameron Synthetic Fuels Report is published by the Rocky Mountain Division of The Pace Company Consultants & Engineers, Inc. as a multi-client service and is intended for the sole use of the clients or organizations affiliated with clients b, virtue of a relationship equivalent to 51 percent or greater ownership. Cameron Synthetic Fuels Report is protected by the copyright laws of the United States; reproduction of any part of the publication requires the express permission of the Rocky Mountain Division of the Pace Company Consultants & Engineers, Inc. The Rocky Mountain Division has provided energy consulting and engineering services since 1955. The Division's experience includes resource evaluation, process development and design, systems planning, marketing studies, licensor comparisons, environmental planning, and economic analysis. The Division also has an extensive Information Services Department which publishes a variety of periodic and other reports analyzing developments in the energy field. ROCKY MOUNTAIN DIVISION THE PACE COMPANY CONSULTANTS & ENGINEERS. INC. S. FRANK CULBERSON. PRESIDENT TED C. BORER, MANAGER-INFORMATION SERVICES SYNTHETIC FUELS STAFF RHONDA J. DETAMORE AGNES K. DUBBERLY THOMAS A. HENDRICKSON CHARLES 0. HOOK EUGENE L. JOJOLA KENNETH E. STANFIELD WELANA WENDORFF CONTRIBUTORS JULIE H. SMITH CHERRY CREEK PLAZA II 650 S. CHERRY ST., SUITE 400 DENVER, COLORADO 80222 (303) 321-3919 CONTENTS HIGHLIGHTS A-1 I. GENERAL GOVERNMENT Reagan Administration's Fossil Energy Policies and FY '82 Fossil Energy Budget Reviewed i-i President Reagan Serious about Regulatory Reform 1-4 Third Biennial National Energy Plan (NEP-11) Being Formulated ............ 1-6 Recent Presidential Appointments Are of General Interest 1-6 Synthetic Fuels Corporation Received 61 Proposals in Response to Its Initial Solicitation of October 31 1-7 Synthetic Fuels Corporation Announces Initial Project Selection Guidelines 1-1? Synthetic Fuels Corporation Issues Interim Guidelines on Disclosure and Confidentiality ..... 1-18 GAO Gives DOE Good Marks on Selection of Projects for the Alternate Fuels Program ..... 1-19 Colorado Issues Its Joint Review Process Manual Governing Project Permitting 1-20 Japan Shows Increased Interests in Synthetic Fuels 1-22 U.S. GOVERNMENT SYNTHETIC FUELS PROCUREMENT NOTICES LISTED ...... 1-23 U.S. GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF PROGRAM INTEREST LISTED ......... 1-25 U.S. GOVERNMENT "RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SOURCES SOUGHT" NOTICES LISTED 1-26 U.S. GOVERNMENT SYNTHETIC FUELS CONTRACT AWARDS LISTED ....... 1-27 ENVIRONMENT National Commission on Air Quality Submits Its Final Report to Congress 1-28 EPA Issues Emission Reduction Banking Manual 1-30 BLM to Prepare One EIS for All Uinta Basin (Utah) Synfuels Projects 1-31 Small Synfuels Plants Now Governed under Wyomin g's Industrial Siting Act 1-31 WATER BlA Formulating Rules for Regulation of Reserved Waters on Indian Reservations. .1-32 Water for Utah Energy Projects Will Come from Presently Unused Resources 1-32 ENERGY FORECASTS Exxon Updates Its U.S. and World Energy Forecasts 1-35 Synthetic Liquids Projected to Become the Major Source of Liquid Fuels • . 1-38 Carter Presidential Panel Report Calls for Energy Conservation, Not Energy Production. • • 1-39 ECONOMICS Study Claims That As Oil Prices Rise. Costs of'law Synfuels Plants Rise Proportionately 1-41 COMING EVENTS ...................... 1-43 RECENT GENERAL PUBLICATIONS 1-46 II. OIL SHALE PROJECT AC71VMES Rundle Project in Queensland Is Shelved........... 2-i Tosco/Exxon Operating Agreement for Colony Project Is Summarized 2-1 White River Shale Project Plans Phase I Construction to Begin in December 2-i Magic Circle Energy Corp. Announces Cottonwood Wash Oil Shale Project 2-2 TECHNOLOGY Study Rants Paraho Over }-Iytort for Eastern Oil Shale 2-3 Plateau Plans 20,000 BPD Refinery Addition for Shale Oil 2-8 Colorado Synfuels, Inc. Plans Microwave Field Test in Wyoming 2-9 New Process Is Claimed to Dissolve Oil Shale ..... 2-10 FOREIGN Extraction of 31.3 Million Tonnes of Oil Shale in Estonia Reported for 1980 2-il - Soviet Geologist Urges Expanded USSR Oil Shale Development 2-li Jordan Pursuing Additional Oil Shale Studies 7 . 7 2-Il SOCIOECONOMICS Rio Blanco County Planning Commission Recommends Socioeconomic Conditions for C-a Permit Approval 2-13 ENVIRONMENT Los Alamos Publishes Health and Environmental Program Status Report 2-15 DOE Inspector General Investigates Anvil Points £15 Delay 2-15 LAND Status of Oil Shale Legal Proceedings Noted • 2-17 Colorado BLM Office Publishes Map of Pre-1920 Claims ..... 2-19 STATUS OF OIL SHALE PROJECTS ............ • 2-20 RECENT OIL SHALE PUBLiCATIONS ........... 2-26 III. OIL SANDS GOVERNMENT Conflict over Canadian NEP Continues ...... 3-1 ERCB Allows Esso Cold Lake Project to Use Natural Gas. 3-2 PROJECT ACTIVITIES Rio Verde Energy Plans Kentucky Oil Sands Production 3-5 Aarian Seeks SFC Aid for Utah Project ..... 3-5 Westken Plans In Situ Project in Kentucky 3-5 Colorado Companies Propose Kansas Heavy Oil Project 3-6 CALSYN Project Will Use Dynacracking 3-6 Getty/Others to Expand California Pipeline Capacity 3-7 Suncor Shuts Down for Biennial Maintenance 3-8 Major Oil Sands Projects React to Canadian NEP 3-9 IS DIN HZ[S)FL.It1I Physical Separation Applied to Utah Oil Sands 3-12 Syncrude Develops Two Stage Flotation Process . 3-13 Potential for Induction Heating Method Discussed . 3-14 BETC Awards Contracts to Study Microbial Oil Recover y................. 3-16 Biotechnology Provides an Alternative Oil Recovery Route ................ 3-i? Syncrude Explores Heavy Metal Recovery . 3-18 LAND The U.S. Gets Another Chance to Adopt Combined Hydrocarbon Leasing . 3-20 Geology of Manville Hydrocarbon Reservoirs Published . 3-21 ECONOMICS Induction Heating Shows Economic Potential . 3-23 U.S. Bureau of Mines Compares Costs of Unconventional Mining Methods . 3-25 FOREIGN Mangyshlak Oil Development is Discussed ..................... 326 U.S.S.R. Balakhany Oil Mine Drilling Underway . 3-26 Petroven Pours Money Into Oil Development . 3-27 Corpoven Improves Processing Capacity . 3-27 Maraven Modernizes Cardon Refinery . 3-28 Lagoven Undertakes Major Projects to Increase Orinoco Belt Production . 3-28 STATUS OF OIL SANDS PROJECTS . 3-33 RECENT OIL SANDS PUBLICATIONS . 3-46 IV. COAL PROJECT ACTIVITIES Great Plains Files Proposed Rate Settlement and Receives FERC Approval . 4-1 GAO Report Describes Great Plains Status .....................4-I W.R. Grace Project Activities Described . 4-2 New England Energy Park Described . 4-2 Congressional Options Regarding Solvent Refined Coal Plants Discussed . 4-2 ENVIRONMENT SRC-I Draft Environmental Impact Statement Released . 4-6 GOVERNMENT General Accounting Office Advises Cost Control Methods for Coal Liquefaction Plants ........4-10 FERC Denies Transwestern Recovery of Costs of Abandoned WESCO Project . 4-11 Montana Energy Almanac Updated .......................4-li U.S. Regulatory Council Reports on Coal Regulatory Problems . 4-13 The Substitution of Coal for Oil and Gas in the Industrial Sector Is Studied b y the Energy Information Administration .......... ... ..........4-15 TECHNOLOGY 'Alternative Fuels Monitors' Assess Readiness of Coal Gasification and Liquefaction Technologies ..... 4-17 Gas Price Decontrol Promotes Coal Gasification for NH 3 Production . 4-24 EPP.1 Studies Methanol Production via Winkler Gasification and ICI Gas Synthesis ...... 4-25 Wellman Designs and Builds Small Gasifiers in the U.S . 4-26 Proceedings of Workshop on Critical Coal Conversion Equipment Published by ESCOE ........ 4-27 NJ ECONOMICS Economics of Methanol and/or Gasoline from Wyodak Coal via Lurgi Gasification Evaluated .......4-29 ENERGY POLICY AND FORECASTS Congressional Research Service Reports on Outlook for Commercialization of Coal-Based Synfuels Industry . 4-31 National Coat Association Forecasts Coal Use for Synfuels Production . 4-31 FOREIGN CSR Ltd. and Mitsui to Evaluate SEC Using Victorian Brown Coal . 4-34 Preliminary Design Study to Be Made for a Coal Gasification Plant in Brazil . 4-34 LAND DOE Coat Production Goats Are Increased . 4-35 Expressions of Leasing Interest in Fort Union Coal Given . 4-40 Study Process for Leasing Fort Union Coal Outlined . 4-42 Record High Bid Submitted for Federal Lease . 4-43 Lease Sate Scheduled for Alabama Subregion . 4-45 - - -Interior Announces Guidelines for Possible 5-Year Extension of Pre-1976 Federal Coal Leases ...... 4-45 Surface Mining Regulations and Litigation Reviewed . - . - 4-46 - STATUS OF COAL PROJECTS . 4-49 RECENT COAL PUBLICATIONS . 4-91 V. APPENDIX Extensions to Diligent Development Requirement for Federal Coal Leases . 5-1 iv HIGHLIGHTS Synthetic Fuels Corporation Receives Lively Response To Its First Solicitation March 31, 1981 was the deadline for receipt of proposals to be submitted in response to the Initial Solicitation by the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation for proposals for financial assistance for synthetic fuels projects. As of March 31, 61 proposals had been received A listing of the proposals with brief descriptions of each project proposed, is presented in an article which begins at page 1-7. Despite the deadline, the SFC will continue to receive proposals under its first solicitation. The forms of financial assistance which the SFC is authorized to