For oil: a mining alternative

Journal Article · Mon Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1981 · Eng. Min. J.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5586026

Dayton, S

Oil shale development plans are surging again. The modern era of commercial extraction of oil from shales, tar sands, and other non-coal sources could be back-dated to 1967, the year that a Sun Oil Co. subsidiary dedicated a 90,000 short tons/day strip mine and a 50,000-bpd plant in the Athabasca tar sands of Alberta, Canada. Since then, Syncrude Canada Ltd. started producing from a surface pit and a 109,000-bpd plant in 1978. However, interest in such synthetic sources of oil sagged during the 1970s, as planned mega-mining projects were ravaged by inflation, environmental, and other uncertainties. This study reviews US production plans, capital requirements, oil shale overseas, US resources, and discusses several groups who are studying commercial production possibilities. Potential US oil shale development sites in Colorado and Utah are tabulated and a map illustrates activity in the Piceance and Uinta basins.

• OSTI ID: 5586026
• Journal Information: Eng. Min. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Eng. Min. J.; (United States) Vol. 182:6; ISSN ENMJA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040300* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Drilling
Fracturing & Mining
040400 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Oil Production
Recovery
& Refining
CAPITALIZED COST
COLORADO
COMMERCIALIZATION
COST
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FEDERAL REGION VIII
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
OIL SHALE DEPOSITS
OIL SHALE MINING
OIL SHALE PROCESSING PLANTS
PICEANCE CREEK BASIN
PLANNING
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
RESOURCES
UINTA BASIN
USA
UTAH