Shale-oil development on the fast track ly issued small-scale leases to four corporations for R&D of shale-oil technology, but none have begun operations yet, Feeney says. The lands under consideration for oil-shale exploitation are located in sections of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, where the underlying Green River Formation contains an estimated 1.5–1.8 trillion barrels (bbl) of oil, of which 800 Courtesy of Shell E xplor ation & Production Co.
Opening up public lands in the western U.S. to the commercial exploitation of oil shale would profoundly affect the landscape, natural environment, and local communities, according to a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) released December 20, 2007, by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Even so, BLM is still considering leasing about 1.9
Test site for “freeze wall” technology for isolating and protecting groundwater around shale deposits at Shell’s Mahogany (Colo.) Research Project.
million acres for shale-oil development—an action that would displace activities such as recreation, mining, oil and gas drilling, and livestock grazing and that would also result in the loss of thousands of existing jobs. In addition, the new industry would consume unknown quantities of water; degrade wildlife habitats, streams, and air quality; and catalyze a huge expansion of infrastructure to support industrial operations and services for thousands of new workers. Mandated by the 2005 federal Energy Policy Act (EPAct), which calls for developing unconventional fuels, the 1400-page EIS aims to amend 12 BLM land-use plans so that the most promising lands can be leased for oil-shale and tarsands extraction. However, says BLM spokesperson Heather Feeney, “there’s not enough information available on the state of the [relevant] technologies to issue leases at this stage.” BLM previous-
billion bbl are considered potentially recoverable. A recent RAND Corp. report calculates that at a daily production rate of 5 million bbl of oil—one-quarter of the current national usage—the reserves could last more than 400 years. “Despite all the attempts to develop a shale-oil industry in the U.S. over the past 100 years, the fact remains that no proven method exists for efficiently removing the oil from the rock,” says Bob Loucks, a former shale-oil project manager. Efforts to jump-start western shale-oil production during the 1970s propelled the region through a boom-and-bust economy that ended when Congress abolished the $8 billion Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program in 1985. The Herculean goal of duplicating millions of years of geologic activity—compressing plant material into oil—is complicated by the low energy density of the rock. Industry experts estimate that it takes
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at least a ton of shale to produce 25 gallons of oil. Carried out on a large scale, the process would require diverting water supplies from the already overdrawn Colorado River system. According to an Argonne National Laboratory report, manufacturing 1 million bbl per day could consume up to 300,000 acre-feet per year, necessitating considerable expansion of regional water-storage facilities. Electrical power requirements would likewise be formidable. The RAND report estimates that turning out 100,000 bbl of oil per day would require 1.2 gigawatts of electricity. “A million barrels a day would demand at least 10 power plants, plus five new coal mines to feed them,” says Randy Udall, a Colorado energy analyst. Studies by Adam Brandt of the University of California Berkeley indicate that carbon emissions from the full fuel cycle (extracting and refining, as well as burning the finished fuel) would exceed those of conventional oil by 27– 52%, depending on whether openpit mining or as-yet-unproven in situ technology under development by Shell Oil is used. “Of all the environmental impacts of oil-shale development, the most serious appears to be the extent to which land will be disturbed,” according to the RAND report. BLM’s EIS estimates that each oil-shale project would occupy up to 14,000 acres. Lands being considered for leases encompass 170,000 acres with wilderness characteristics, 249 miles of perennial streams, and a vast array of plant and wildlife communities, including 14 threatened and endangered species. Conservation groups, local government officials, and the Western Governors’ Association are urging BLM to allow R&D efforts to run their course before making any leasing decisions, and efforts are under way to amend EPAct to that effect. Meanwhile, the period for public comments on the draft EIS ends March 20. —NOREEN PARKS
