/ _... i';C4 - SHELF , Historyof Western Oil Shale Paul L. Russell . " The Center for Professional Advancement Paul Russell received his degree from the University of Arizona. After working for Industry for five years, he began his involvement with oil shale in 1948 when he joined the U.S. Bureau of Mines and was assigned to Rifle, Colorado, to work at Anvil Points. During the middle fifties, he was assigned to the Atomic Energy Com­ mission to study the extraction of ura­ nium from the Chattanooga Shales in Tennessee. He became Research Director of the U.S. Bureau ofMines in 1967 and served in this capacity until he retired in 1979. During these years his involvement with oil shale intensified. Currently, he is an engineering consultant. ISBN: 0-86563-000-3 ,._-------_._.. V.D.ALLRED 6016 SOUTH BANNOCK LI7TLETON. COLO. 80120 ....~ ...........~..... This compelling history spans 65 years of western oil shale development from its begin­ ning to the present day. These were the years in which most of the present-day retorting pro­ cesses were invented and devel­ oped,leading to present studies of in-situ retorting, and to the resumption of leasing of fed­ eral oil shale lands. The many excellent illustra­ tions and contemporary photo­ graphs in themselves provide a pictorial record of an era when the United States was "wild over oil"-an era when Gov­ ernment estimates of billions of barrels of oil in western oil shales were used to advan­ tage for questionable-if not fraudulent-stock promotions designed to raise capital for development, or to fatten the promoters' pockets. History oj Western Oil Shale recaptures the mood of the times. Paul Russell compre­ hensively reviews with accu­ racy and detail the technical and financial problems of the early days and relates them to current oil shale developments. This History oj Western Oil Shale will hold the interest of those from diversified fields. It is the story 0 f man's continuing attempt to extract oil from rock, a timeless story. Paul Russell's book is more than a history of oil shale, it is part of the history of this country. Edited by Arnold H. Peio/sky Arnold H. Pelofsky is President of AER Enterprises. He has been directly involved with oil shale since 1965. His involvement has ranged from con­ ducting basic research to commer­ cialization activities. HISTORY of WESTERN OIL SHALE HISTORY of WESTERN OIL SHALE Paul L. Russell Research Director, U.S. Bureau ofMines, 1967-1979 Edited by Arnold H. Pelofsky 1980 THE CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT EASTBRUNSWICK' NEW JERSEY THE CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT BOX H, EAST BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY 08816, USA © 1980 The Center for Professional Advancement. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in any information retrieval system, without the prior written permission ofthe publishers, The Center for Professional Advancement, Box H, East Brunswick, New Jersey 08816, U.S.A. Publishing Consultant: Jack K. Burgess, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Russell, Paul L. History of Western Oil Shale Bibliography; p. Includes Index. 1. Oil-shales-The West-History. I. Peiofsky, Arnold H. II. Title. TN859. U52W477 553.2'82 80-66410 ISBN 0-86563-000-3 Library oJCongress Catalog Card Number 80-66410 International Standard Book Number 0-86563-000-3 Printed in the United States oJAmerica To the memory ofDr. Charles H. Prien, who spent the last 35 years of his life on the problems of oil shale. He is one of the Fathers ofshale oil. v Table of Contents Dedication . .. ........................................ v Table ofContents ............................................................... vii List ofIllustrations . ..............................................................xi Foreword. .. ....xv Preface . ......................................................................xvii Acknowledgments . .............................................................xix Introduction . ..................................................................xxi PART I: EARLY HISTORY Historical Notes. .. 3 GreenRiverandNevadaOilShales ....................................... 3 Early Activity in Western Shales. .. 5 The Great Land Rush .............................................. 5 Assessment Work ................................................. 6 Financing and Stock Promotions. .. 10 Gold, Silver and Other Metals ....................................... 13 Retorts and Retorting . .. 14 PART II: 1915-1930 TheBoomEra ........................................................ 21 Shale Oil Production 1915-1930...................................... 21 Colorado Activities ................................................ 21 American Continuous Retort Co. ................................ 21 American Shale Refining Company. .. 24 The Belvedere Oil Shale and Refining Company. .. 26 Bureau ofMines-RulisonProject ............................... 26 Campbell Refining Corp. ... .. 30 Colorado School ofMines ...................................... 35 Champion Oil Shale& Refining Company ......................... 36 ColoradoCarbonCompany. .. 37 Columbia Oil Shale and Refining Company . .. 39 Continental Oil Shale Mining and Refining Company. .. 40 TheGrand Valley Oil & Shale Co................................. 43 Index Oil Shale Company. .. 45 vii Table ofContents The LackawannaOil Shale ProductsCompany . .. 51 The March Oil Shale Company. .. 52 TheMonarch Oil Shale Company ................................ 55 TheMount LoganOil Shale and Refining Company ................. 58 TheOil Shale Mining Company. .. 61 The Searchlight Oil Shale & Refining Company . .. 68 Union Oil Co. ofCalifornia, Inc .................................. 70 Ventura-Colorado Oil Company. .. 70 Washington Shale Oil & ProductsCompany. .. 71 Montana Activities ... .. 73 Dillon Oil Company ........................................... 73 NevadaActivities . .. 75 Catlin Shale ProductsCompany ................................. 75 Southern Pacific Railroad Co., Inc................................ 80 UtahActivities .................................................... 82 RockyMountain Refining Company. .. 83 The "Mormon" Retort, Juab County, Utah. .. 85 TheUteOilCompany .......................................... 87 TheWestern Shale on Company . .. 90 Willow CreekRetort . .. 93 Wyoming Activities. .. 95 The Wyoming Oil ProductsCompany. .. 95 TheAmericanShaleandPetroleumCompany ...................... 96 New Brunswick, Canada, Activities. .. 96 D'Arcy ExplorationCompany. .. 96 PART III: 1940-1969 Retorting Methods .................................................... 101 World WarIIand Post-WarYears ........................................ 103 Bureau ofMines, Rifle, Colorado, Project ............................. 103 Sinclair Research Incorporated ...................................... 107 Union Oil CompanyofCalifornia, Inc ................................. 107 TheOil Shale Corporation(TOSCO) .................................. III Colorado School ofMines Research Foundation, Inc..................... III Project Bronco.................................................... 113 Shell Oil Co., Inc. ................................................ 114 P ART IV: 1970-1979 CurrentActivities ..................................................... 117 Government Leasing ............................................... 117 Colorado Lease Tract, C-a ...................................... 119 Colorado LeaseTract, Cob ...................................... 120 Utah LeaseTract, U-aand U-b ................................... 121 Development ..................................................... 122 Paraho Corporation ........................................... 122 SuperiorOil Shale Project. ...................................... 123 viii I Table ofContents 1 Occidental Petroleum Corporation ............................... 124 The Oil Shale Corporation (TOSCO) and Colony Development Operations ............................................... 124 Talley Energy Systems, Incorporated ............................. 126 Geokinetics, Inc ............................................... 127 Equity Oil Co., Inc............................................. 129 Laramie Energy Research Center ................................. 129 TOSCOCorporation-Sand Wash Project ........................129 UnionOHCo., Inc............................................. 130 U.S. Bureau ofMines .......................................... 131 PART V: SUMMARY AND EPILOGUE Summary . ...........................................................135 Epilogue . ............................................................ 137 References Index ix rI I List of Illustrations Figure No. Page 1. Principal oil shale deposits in the United States ..........................xxii 2. Oil shale deposits of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming showing Federal lease tracts . 4 3. Oil shale land ownership map, Utah and Colorado ....................... 8 4. Announcement of oil shale demonstrations near De Beque, Colorado, 1920 . .. II 5. The first Colorado oil shale retort ..................................... 15 6. Oil shale terrain, Colorado. .. 17 7. Location ofColorado oil shale with respectto Denver, Colorado ........... 22 8. Location ofColorado oil shales activities 1915-1930 . .. 23 9. Rod Mill, American Continuous Retort Co.. .. 24 10. Tramway tower, American Shale Refining Company, 1978 . .. 25 II. Rulison oil shale mine, 1976 .........................................