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 Oil Shale
Dr Mohammed Odat

Renewable Energy Engineering Dept.

College of Engineering and Technology
Philadelphia University
Second Semester 2021/2022
Course Outline
• Introduction
• Geology
• Resource
• History
• Industry
• Extraction and processing
• Applications and products
• Economics
• Environmental considerations
• Oil Shale in Jordan
Introduction
What
is
Oil
Shale?
• Oil Shale: Oil shale is fine-grain sedimentary rock containing kerogen
that can be used to produce the liquid hydrocarbon shale oil.
• Oil Shale refers to the sedimentary shale rock that contains oil-prone
kerogen (partially converted fossil organic matter) which has not been
submitted to enough pressure and temperature over millions of years
to release oil1. Through advanced processing methods, the oil shale
can be converted into shale oil and other hydrocarbons.
• The kinds of hydrocarbons produced depends largely on the type of
kerogen within the shale rock. For example, heating coal, which has
kerogen mostly derived from plant matter, produces hydrocarbon
gases. Oil shale kerogen, on the other hand, is largely derived from
algae. After heating and refining, shale oil is chemically identical
to conventional petroleum
• Unlike conventional oil, shale oil cannot be recovered by drilling; it requires
heating for oil to be released.
• There are two methods of recovering shale oil – ex-situ and in-situ
processing.
• In ex-situ processing, shale oil is mined with conventional mining methods,
like open pit, strip or underground mining. The shale is then transported to
processing units that will retort, or heat up the shale in a process known as
pyrolysis. Pyrolysis of shale rocks takes place in the absence of oxygen in
temperatures between 900 and 1000 °F (450 to 500 °C) . At these high
temperatures, the kerogen will decompose relatively quickly. Pyrolysis, in
short, is a substitute to the natural mechanism that decomposes kerogen in
earth over millions of years in high pressure and temperature conditions.
• In-situ processing allows for extraction of the shale oil by heating the shale
directly underground on much longer timescales and lower temperatures.
There are various methods with which in-situ processing and extraction can
be achieved. However, all of them are still largely in their experimental
stages and have yet to achieve commercial levels of production
Definition
Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary
rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical
compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be
produced, called shale oil (not to be confused with crude
oil occurring naturally in shales).

Main uses
Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil; however,
extracting shale oil from oil shale is more costly than the
production of conventional crude oil both financially and in
terms of its environmental impact. It is being used also to
produce other products.
• Oil shale is a sedimentary rock rich in organic matter known as
kerogen which when heated, breaks down and releases hydrocarbon.
Oil shale can be thought of as a precursor to oil and natural gas; with
more pressure and over longer geological time, the kerogen would
heat to its oil and gas window to release crude oil or natural gas.
• Oil shale is extracted using conventional mining techniques. It is
crushed and burned as fuel to produce electricity or heated up using
retorting system to produce synthetic shale oil.
• The liquid shale oil is a synthetic crude oil which can be treated and
refined into other petroleum products such as diesel, petrol and jet
fuels.
Resources
Deposits of oil shale occur around the world, including
major deposits in the United States. A 2016 estimate of
global deposits set the total world resources of oil shale
equivalent of 6.05 trillion barrels (962 billion cubic meters)
of oil in place.

Processing
Heating oil shale to a sufficiently high temperature causes
the chemical process of pyrolysis to yield a vapor. Upon
cooling the vapor, the liquid shale oil—an unconventional
oil—is separated from combustible oil-shale gas.
Other uses
Oil shale can also be burned directly in furnaces as a low-
grade fuel for power generation and district heating or used
as a raw material in chemical and construction-materials
processing.

Leader countries
Estonia and China have well-established oil shale industries,
and Brazil, Germany, and Russia also utilize oil shale.
Environmental concerns

Oil shale gains attention as a potential abundant source of

oil whenever the price of crude oil rises.
At the same time, oil-shale mining and processing raise a
number of environmental concerns, such as land use, waste
disposal, water use, waste-water management,
greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollution.
Oil shale Geology
Geological definition
Oil shale, an organic-rich sedimentary rock does not have a
definite geological definition nor a specific chemical formula.

Oil Shale; An Economic Term

According to the petrologist Adrian C. Hutton of the University
of Wollongong, oil shales are not "geological nor geochemically
distinctive rock but rather 'economic' term.“
The Common Defining Feature
Their common defining feature is low solubility in low-
boiling organic solvents and generation of liquid organic
products on thermal decomposition

Structure Variation
Oil shales vary considerably in their mineral content,
chemical composition, age, type of kerogen, and
depositional history
General Composition
General composition of oil shales constitutes
inorganic matrix, bitumen, and kerogen.

Inorganic matrix can contain

Quartz, feldspars, clays carbonates , pyrite as
primary constituents and some other minerals as
secondary constituents such as iron, vanadium,
nickel, molybdenum, and uranium.

While the bitumen portion of oil shales is soluble

in carbon disulfide, kerogen portion is insoluble in
carbon disulfide
Chemical composition

The mineral content consists primarily of silicon, calcium,

aluminum, magnesium, iron, sodium, and potassium found
in silicate, carbonate, oxide, and sulfide minerals.

The chemical composition of the organic matter is variable.

It consists mainly of complex organic molecules

containing hydrogen and carbon as well as certain amounts
of the heteroatomic elements oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur.
The heteroatomic elements

The heteroatomic elements have important effects on the

properties of the oil extracted from shales, frequently
influencing the choice of upgrading and refining processes, and
shales from different regions and different geologic origins are
sometimes known for the content of those crucial elements. For
instance, the kukersite oil shale of Estonia is noted for being
oxygen-rich. Oil shale that originated in saline lake
environments, such as the GRF shales of the western United
States, tends to be nitrogen-rich, whereas marine oil shales
such as those found in Morocco, Egypt, Palestine,
and Jordan are sulfur-rich.
Oil shale vs Coal
Oil shale contains a lower percentage of
organic matter than coal.

In commercial grades of oil shale the ratio of

organic matter to mineral matter lies
approximately between 0.75:5 and 1.5:5.

At the same time, the organic matter in oil

shale has an atomic ratio of hydrogen to
carbon (H/C) approximately 1.5 to 3 times
higher than for coals.
 Classification of Oil Shales
• Geologists can classify oil shales on the basis of their
composition as carbonate-rich shales, siliceous shales,
or cannel shales.

Classification
• Another classification, known as the van Krevelen diagram,
assigns kerogen types, depending on Composition
the hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen content of oil shales'
original organic matter.
Kerogen Type
• The most commonly used classification of oil shales,
developed between 1987 and 1991 by Adrian C. Hutton,
adapts petrographic terms from coal terminology. This Hutton
classification designates oil shales
as terrestrial, lacustrine (lake-bottom-deposited),
or marine (ocean bottom-deposited), based on the
environment of the initial biomass deposit. Known oil
shales are predominantly aquatic (marine, lacustrine)
origin. Hutton's classification scheme has proven useful in
estimating the yield and composition of the extracted oil.
 A one page describing van Krevelen diagram
And differentiating the four types of kerogen
Van Krevelen diagrams are graphical plots
developed by Dirk Willem van Krevelen
(chemist and professor of fuel technology at
the TU Delft) and used to assess the origin
and maturity of kerogen and petroleum.
The diagram cross plots the
hydrogen:carbon atomic ratio as a function of
the oxygen:carbon atomic ratio.

Types of Kerogen
Different types of kerogen have differing
potentials to produce oil during maturation.
These various types of kerogen can be
distinguished on a van Krevelen diagram
Shale Oil analysis using hydrogen index (HI)
and oxygen index (OI)
• Obviously, the two main elements of hydrocarbons are hydrogen and
carbon.
• Therefore, once we know the amount of total organic carbon (TOC)
present in a rock, we then need to know the amount of hydrogen
present in order to assess overall source rock quality.
• The amount of oxygen and hydrogen present in the kerogen defines
the kerogen as type I, II, III or VI and if the rock will be oil or gas
prone.
How do we classify kerogen types?
The classic Van Krevelen diagram is commonly used for classifying
the organic matter in sediment. The ratio H/C (hydrogen : carbon)
and O/C (Oxygen :Carbon) are plotted in diagram in vertical and
horizontal axis respectively.
Rather than plot the elemental ratios it is common to plot indices
determined by a pyrolysis technique referred to as Rock Eval. In
the pyrolysis techniques two indices are determined: the
Hydrogen Index (HI) which is milligrams of pyrolyzable
hydrocarbons divided by TOC and the Oxygen Index (OI) which is
milligrams of pyrolyzable organic carbon dioxide divided by TOC.

Cross-plots of both elemental H/C and O/C ratios or of HI and OI

are utilized to discriminate four ‘fields’ which are referred to as
Types I, II, III, and IV kerogen.
 Classification of Kerogen Type
Classification of Kerogen Type (by H/C and O/C ratio)
(Oxygen and Hydrogen index )
 Determining kerogen quality
• The type of kerogen present
in a rock determines its
quality. Type I kerogen is the
highest quality; type III is the
lowest. Type I has the highest
hydrogen content; type III,
the lowest. To determine the
kerogen type present in a
source rock, plot the
hydrogen and oxygen indices
on a modified Van Krevlen
diagram (Figure 1).
 CHAPTER 2
Oil Shale, The Resource
Oil Shale Resources
INTRODUCTION
• Oil shale deposits are found on all continents and such deposits
contain a solid hydro-carbonaceous material (kerogen) that can be
converted to crude shale oil by thermal decomposition
All around the world
As source rocks for most conventional oil reservoirs, oil shale deposits
are found in all world oil provinces, although most of them are too deep
to be exploited economically.

Oil shale resources and oil shale reserves

As with all oil and gas resources, analysts distinguish between oil shale
resources and oil shale reserves. "Resources" refers to all oil shale
deposits, while "reserves", represents those deposits from which
producers can extract oil shale economically using existing technology.
• Oil shale is quite different from petroleum, which is more concentrated in
certain regions of the world.
• Depending upon the data source and the year of reporting, the statistical
values may vary.
• In fact, before progressing to resources and reserves of various countries, it
is necessary to first understand that in-place resources and proved reserves
• TOTAL RESOURCES
• The potential resources of oil shale in the world are enormous, but a
precise evaluation, like petroleum resources, is difficult because of the
numerous ways by which the resources are assessed
Countries
Although resources of oil shale occur in many countries, only
33 countries possess known deposits of possible economic
value. Well-explored deposits, potentially classifiable as
reserves, include the Green River deposits in the western
United States, the Tertiary deposits in Queensland, Australia,
deposits in Sweden and Estonia, the El-Lajjun deposit
in Jordan, and deposits in France, Germany, Brazil, China,
southern Mongolia and Russia. These deposits have given rise
to expectations of yielding at least 40 liters of shale oil per tonne
of oil shale, using the Fischer Assay.
A 2016 estimate
A 2016 estimate set the total world resources of
oil shale equivalent to yield of 6.05 trillion barrels
(962 billion cubic metres) of shale oil.

For comparison, at the same time the world's

proven oil reserves are estimated to be 1.6976
trillion barrels (269.90 billion cubic metres).
Countries with large oil shale resources
• The largest oil shale resources are in the USA, Brazil, Jordan, Russia and
Morocco. The most well known and explored deposits include the Green
River deposits in the western United States, the Tertiary deposits in Australia,
deposits in Sweden and Estonia, the El-Lajjun deposit in Jordan, and deposits
in France, Germany, Brazil, China, and Russia.
• Oil shale is becoming an important resource globally because of its value as
an alternative to other fossil fuels like crude oil and coal. As the resources of
crude oil and coal become depleted, while demand for energy sources
continues to increase, more and more attention is being focused on oil shale.
• Besides Estonia, which has been using its oil shale resources for oil and
power production for almost 100 years, Brazil and China already use oil shale
as an energy source, while in the USA – which is estimated to hold
approximately 72% of the world's oil shale reserves – significant research
and development with regards to oil shale is on-going, with numerous
projects expected to be implemented within the next decade or so. In
Germany, oil shale is used for power generation and for cement production.
• Energy is the blood of any country for growth and stability. Even with
more renewables projects, Jordan continues to import more
than 90% of the country’s energy requirements mainly natural gas
and oil. It is a burden for Jordan and security of energy supply is
dependent on foreign countries.
• Oil shale deposits in Jordan
• Oil shale is Jordan’s most significant natural resource which covers
over 70% of the Kingdom’s territory with resource totaling c. 70
billion tonnes which makes Jordan the 7th richest country in the
world in terms of oil shale deposits.
Jordan’s most significant oil shale deposits can be found in the west-
central region of the Kingdom.
Shale Oil in Jordan
• Jordan is ranked eighth among 37 countries in the world shale oil
reserves—more than 65 billion tons (65 × 109 tons) have been
recorded over all Jordan, of which 50 billion tons (50 × 109 tons) are
located in central Jordan.
• Oil shale in northern Jordan was recognized for the first time in the
early twentieth century in the Yarmouk region, north of Jordan, near
Al-Maqqarin Village.
• During the First World War the German Army used it when they
installed the first project to produce oil from oil shale to operate the
Hijazi Railway.
• Exploration work started after the El Lajjun deposit had been
discovered by the German Geological Mission in the 1960s.
• Intensive exploration activities on oil shale in central Jordan were
carried out during the 1980s and resulted in delineating Oil Shale
Resources other deposits such as Sultani, Hasa and Jurf Ed Darawish.
Continued exploration resulted in the discovery of other deposits
such as Attarat Um Ghudran, Wadi Maghar, Siwaqa, Khan El Zabib,
and El Thammad
• Jordanian shale is generally of quite good quality, with relatively low
ash and moisture content.
• Oil yield (5–12% w/w) is favorably comparable with the oil yields from
the oil shale of western Colorado (USA); however, Jordanian shale has
an exceptionally high sulfur content (up to 9% by weight of the
organic content).
• The reserves are exploitable by opencast mining and are easily
accessible
• The principal mineral component of the oil shale is calcite or more
rarely quartz together with kaolinite and apatite and, on occasion,
feldspar, muscovite, illite, goethite, and gypsum as secondary
components.
• Dolomite (CaCO3.MgCO3) occurs in some individual carbonate beds
as in the Arbid limestone of El-Lajjun.
• The main elements of the oil shale, if organic carbon is excluded, are
calcium and silicon; minor constituents are sulfur, aluminum, iron,
and phosphorous.
• The concentrations of the remaining components are generally low
• The amount of phosphorous in the shale increases from the top to
the bottom of the sequence.
• Phosphorous content is not favorable for the utilization of the spent
shale for the manufacture of cement.
• However, a certain percentage of the oil shale and the spent shale can
be used in cement manufacturing.
• The eventual exploitation of the only substantial fossil fuel
resource to produce liquid fuels or electricity, together with
chemicals and building materials, would be favored by three
factors:
(1) the high organic matter content of Jordanian oil shale,
(2) the suitability of the deposits for surface-mining,
and (3) their location near potential consumers (i.e.,
phosphate mines, potash, and cement works).
• In May 2010, Enefit (Eesti Energia) signed a concession agreement
with the Jordanian Government granting the former the right to
utilize part of the Attarat Um Ghudran deposit for 50 years.
• Located in central Jordan and estimated to contain 25 billion tonnes,
the deposit is considered to be the largest in the country.
• Enefit will undertake further geological research and an
environmental impact assessment.
• After a maximum period of 4 years, a decision will be taken regarding
the economic feasibility of the project.
• If commercial development ensues, it is planned that a 900MW
(maximum) capacity oil shale-fired power plant will begin operating in
2016 and a 38 000 barrels per day shale oil plant in 2017.
• Phase I - 4 years 2008 - 2010
• NEI Energia ( Enefit ) JV signs project Development Agreement with
Governm -ent of Jordan ( GoJ ) GoJ awards NEI – Enefit JV with Concession
Agreement
• Phase II - 4 years 2011 - 2013
• Geological & hydrogeological surveys , 3D modeling & oil shale testing
• 2012: Launch of EPC & Mining Tender Commence EIA process & pilot
testing of Attarat oil Shale
• 2013 GoJ approves legislative framework for sold fuels & also approves EIA
, SRK issues JORC Resources Statement; Commence PPA & EPC Contract
negotiations
• 2014 – 2015: APCO signed PPA & IA with Nepco & GoJ and EPC contract
with GPEC; Commence preparation for financing due diligence, Complete
detailed design for mine & infrastructure ; SRK issues JORC Reserve
Statement for Oil shale Financing -Lenders due diligence commence ,
Equity – Selected Equity investor & due diligence commence
• Phase III - 3 years: 2016
• Signing of financing & Equity Agreements ; Yudean joins the project
• 2017: Chinese Government approval for issuance of Sinosure
Guarantee for the project
• 2017 – 2020: 16 March 2017: Financial Close & issued Notice to
Proceed to EPC Contractor
Enefit
• Enefit is the largest oil shale to energy company in the world and
has almost 90 years of oil shale experience in Estonia.
• Enefit’s shale oil processing technology, currently operational in
Estonia, is the world’s most efficient and environmentally
friendly.
• It is also a proven technology that creates additional value by
using the excess heat and co-produced retort gas for power
production.
• A new plant operating on this technology is already being
constructed in Estonia.
Oil Shale, The History
Historic periods

Humans have used oil shale as a fuel since prehistoric times, since it generally
burns without any processing

Around 3000 BC, "rock oil" was used in Mesopotamia for road construction and
making architectural adhesives.

Britons of the Iron Age also used to polish it and form it into ornaments.

In the 10th century, the Arab physician Masawaih al-Mardini (Mesue the Younger)
described a method of extraction of oil from "some kind of bituminous shale[."
The first patent for extracting oil from oil shale was in1694 by three persons
named Martin Eele, Thomas Hancock and William Portlock who had "found a way
to extract and make great quantities of petrochemicals out of a sort of stone
‫يحيى ابن ماسويه المارديني‬
Modern periods
Modern industrial mining of oil shale began in 1837 in Autun, France,
followed by exploitation in Scotland, Germany, and several other
countries.

Operations during the 19th century focused on the production

of kerosene, lamp oil, and paraffin; these products helped supply the
growing demand for lighting that arose during the Industrial Revolution.

The European oil-shale industry expanded immediately before World

War I due to limited access to conventional petroleum resources and to
the mass production of automobiles and trucks, which accompanied an
increase in gasoline consumption
Although the Estonian and Chinese oil-shale industries continued to
grow after World War II, most other countries abandoned their projects
due to high processing costs and the availability of cheaper petroleum

Following the 1973 oil crisis, world production of oil shale reached a peak of
46 million tonnes in 1980 before falling to about 16 million tonnes in 2000,
due to competition from cheap conventional petroleum in the 1980s.

On 2 May 1982, known in some circles as "Black Sunday", Exxon canceled its
US$5 billion Colony Shale Oil Project near Parachute, Colorado because of
low oil-prices and increased expenses, laying off more than 2,000 workers

The global oil-shale industry began to revive at the beginning of the

21st century
Production of oil shale in millions of metric tons,
from 1880 to 2010
Oil Shale, The Industry
oil shale Industry Current Status

Major world countries users of oil shale are

Estonia, Brazil, China
and to some extent in Germany, and Russia.

Several additional countries started assessing

their reserves or had built experimental
production plants, while others had phased out
their oil shale industry.

Oil shale serves as the main fuel for power

generation only in Estonia, where 90.3% of
country's electrical generation in 2016 was
produced from oil shale.
Oil shale serves

for oil production in Estonia, Brazil, and China;

for Electrical power generation in Estonia, China, Jordan and

Germany;

for cement production in Estonia, Germany, and China;

for use in chemical industries in China, Estonia, and Russia.

As of 2009, 80% of oil shale used globally is extracted in Estonia, mainly due to
the Oil-shale-fired power plants.

Oil-shale-fired power plants occur in Estonia, which has an installed capacity of

2,967 megawatts (MW), China (12 MW), and Germany (9.9 MW).

Romania and Russia have in the past run power plants fired by oil shale, but have
shut them down or switched to other fuel sources such as natural gas.

Jordan and Egypt plan to construct power plants fired by oil shale, while

Canada and Turkey plan to burn oil shale along with coal for power generation.
Al-Lajjun Oil Shale Fired Power Plant, Jordan
• The Al-Lajjun Oil Shale Fired Power Plant is 900MW oil fired power project.
• It is planned in Karak, Jordan. The project is currently in announced stage.
It will be developed in single phase. The project construction is likely to
commence in 2022 and is expected to enter into commercial operation in
2024.
• Oil shale fired power plant
• Attarat Power Company In partnership with local and international
partners, Enefit is currently in the process of establishing two parallel oil
shale projects in Jordan; an oil shale fired power plant and a shale oil
production plant. Enefit's oil shale fired power plant will be located in
Attarat um Ghudran deposit in central Jordan. The plant will have two
circulating fluidised bed (CFB) units, each with a gross capacity of around
277MW, generating 554MW.The plant will consume approximately 10
million tonnes of oil shale per year. When completed in 2020, it will be one
of the largest power plants in Jordan and the largest oil shale fired power
plant in the world after Enefit's Power Plant in Estonia.
shale oil from oil shale vs conventional oil and natural gas liquids

According to the World Energy Council,

in 2008 the total
production of shale oil from oil shale

was 930,000 tonnes, equal to 17,700 barrels per day (2,810 m3/d), of
which China produced 375,000 tonnes, Estonia 355,000 tonnes, and
Brazil 200,000 tonnes.
In comparison, production of the conventional oil and natural gas
liquids in 2008 amounted 3.95 billion tonnes or 82.1 million barrels per
day (13.1×106 m3/d).
 Oil Shale,
Extraction and processing
Methods of extracting shale oil
• The most common method of extracting shale oil is by surface
mining.
• The in situ combustion process is used for extracting shale oil from far
below the surface.
• The extracted shale oil then undergoes pyrolysis at 842 to 932°F (450
to 500°C) to produce oil shale (non-Conventional Or synthetic crude
oil), shale gas and residue (solid).
Ex Situ Processing (above ground )
Most exploitation of oil shale involves mining followed by shipping
elsewhere, after which one can burn the shale directly to generate
electricity, or undertake further processing.

Surface mining: (most common) involve open pit mining and strip
mining. These procedures remove most of the overlying material to
expose the deposits of oil shale. This is practical when the deposits occur
near the surface.

Underground mining: of oil shale, which removes less of the overlying

material, employs the room-and-pillar method
In-situ processing
In-situ processing involves heating the oil shale underground. Such
technologies can potentially extract more oil from a given area of
land than ex-situ processes, since they can access the material at
greater depths than surface mines can.

Several companies have patented methods for in-situ retorting.

However, most of these methods remain in the experimental phase.

One can distinguish true in-situ processes (TIS) and modified in-
situ processes (MIS). True in-situ processes do not involve mining
the oil shale. Modified in-situ processes involve removing part of the
oil shale and bringing it to the surface for modified in-situ retorting in
order to create permeability for gas flow in a rubble chimney.
Pyrolysis
In either case, the chemical process of pyrolysis converts the
kerogen in the oil shale to shale oil (synthetic crude oil) and
oil shale gas.

Most conversion technologies involve heating shale in the absence

of oxygen to a temperature at which kerogen decomposes (pyrolysis)
into gas, condensable oil, and a solid residue.

This usually takes place between 450 °C and 500 °C . The process of
decomposition begins at relatively low temperatures (300 °C), but
proceeds more rapidly and more completely at higher temperatures.
Retorting
Hundreds of patents for oil shale retorting technologies
exist, however, only a few have undergone testing.

By 2006, only four technologies remained in commercial

use: Kiviter, Galoter, Fushun, and Petrosix.

Extracting and processing of oil shale

To be revisited
Oil shale economics
 Definition:
Oil shale economics deals with the economic feasibility of oil
shale extraction and processing.

Question

under what conditions shale oil is economically viable (feasible)?

Answer
The attempts to develop oil shale deposits have succeeded
only when the shale-oil production cost in a given region is
lower than the price of petroleum or its other substitutes.

Capital costs
According to the United States Department of Energy, the
capital costs of a 100,000 barrels per day ex-situ processing
complex are $3–10 billion.
Running Cost : Operation and Maintenance cost
Cost of a barrel of shale oil
According to a survey conducted by the RAND Corporation, the
cost of producing shale oil at a hypothetical surface retorting
complex in the United States (comprising a mine, retorting
plant, upgrading plant, supporting utilities, and spent oil shale
reclamation), would be in a range of $70–95 per barrel
According to Reuters, estimates put the break-even point for fracking at
around $50 per barrel, but other estimates put it as low as $30 per barrel.
According to a 2022 survey, the average oil producer operating in the
Eagle Ford oilfield in the U.S. needed WTI oil prices to amount to a
minimum of 48 U.S. dollars per barrel in order to profitably drill a new
well. This compared to a breakeven price of 23 U.S. dollars per barrel
for existing wells

• he production cost of a barrel of

shale oil ranges from as high as
US$95 per barrel to as low
US$25 per barrel, although there
is no recent confirmation of the
latter figure.
Cost reduction

Assuming a gradual increase in output after the start of commercial

production, the analysis projects a gradual reduction in processing
costs to $30–40 per barrel after achieving the milestone of

1 billion barrels
Economic prices:

The United States Department of Energy estimates that the

ex-situ processing would be economic at sustained average world oil
prices above $54 per barrel and

in-situ processing would be economic at prices above $35 per barrel.

Royal Dutch Shell announced in 2006 that its Shell ICP technology
would realize a profit when crude oil prices are higher than $30 per
barrel
Proposals to increase the efficiency
Researchers have proposed and tested several co-pyrolysis processes,
1- That other materials such as biomass, peat, waste bitumen,
or rubber and plastic wastes are retorted along with the oil shale.
2- Some propose combining a fluidized bed retort with a circulated
fluidized bed furnace for burning the by-products of pyrolysis (char and oil
shale gas) and thereby improving oil yield, increasing throughput, and
decreasing retorting time.
3- Increase the size of the operation to achieve economies of scale,
4- use oil shale that is a by-product of coal mining such as at Fushun China,
5- produce specialty chemicals as by Viru Keemia Grupp in Estonia,
6- co-generate electricity from the waste heat
 Measure of the viability ( feasibility)
A possible measure of the viability of oil shale as an energy source lies in
the ratio of the energy in the extracted oil to the energy used in its mining
and processing (Energy Returned on Energy Invested, or EROEI).

• An old study (1984) estimated the EROEI of the various known oil
shale deposits as varying between 0.7–13.3

• Some companies and newer technologies assert an EROEI between

3 and 10.

• According to the World Energy Outlook 2010, the EROEI of

ex-situ processing is typically 4 to 5 while of
In-situ processing it may be even as low as 2.
• At the wellhead” EROI is approximately 2:1 for shale oil (again,
considering internal energy) and 20:1 for petroleum. The low EROI for
oil shale leads to a significant release of greenhouse gases.
Mean EROI values for thermal fuels based on
known published values
Mean EROI (and standard error) values for known published assessments of power
generation systems. Values derived using known modern and historical published
EROI and energy analysis assessments and values published by Dale (2010). See
Lambert et al. (2012) for detailed list of references. Note: please see text for
discussion as all these values should not necessarily be taken at face value
Proposals to increase the EROEI
To increase the EROEI, several combined technologies were
proposed. These include

• the usage of waste heat from industrial processes,

such as coal gasification or
from nuclear power generation
• by the combustion of the residual carbon (char).

The water requirements of extraction processes are an

additional economic consideration in regions where water is a
scarce resource.
• It requires two barrels of water to produce a single barrel of shale oil,
and if there is not significant water treatment processes after the
water is used the salinity of the water is greatly increased
• United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates the lifecycle cost of
extracting and refining one barrel of oil requires, on average, 1,850
gallons of water.
• In 2019-2020, CalGEM reported an average 151.7 million barrels of oil
produced from California onshore and offshore extraction each year
 CHAPTER 7
Environmental Aspects
Oil Shale Environmental Considerations
Introduction
Environmental impact of the oil shale industry includes the
consideration of issues such as
1. land use
2. waste management
3. water pollution
4. air pollution (AIR QUALITY IMPACT)
5. Green house gas emissions
1- land use
Land Use
• Surface mining and in-situ processing requires extensive land use.
• Mining, processing and waste disposal require land to be withdrawn
from traditional uses, and therefore should avoid high density
population areas.
• Oil shale mining reduces the original ecosystem diversity with habitats
(locales) supporting a variety of plants and animals.
• After mining the land has to be reclaimed. However, this process
takes time and cannot necessarily re-establish the original
biodiversity.
• The impact of sub-surface mining on the surroundings will be less
than for open pit mines. However, sub-surface mining may also cause
subsidence (settling) of the surface due to the collapse of mined-out
area.
 2- Waste management
• Disposal of mining wastes, spent oil shale and combustion
ashes needs additional land use.

• According to the results of Estonia's oil shale industry. The

mining and processing of about one billion tonnes of oil
shale in Estonia has created about 360-370 million tonnes
of solid waste.

• The waste material may consist of several pollutants

including sulfates, heavy metals, and polycylic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which
are toxic and carcinogenic.

• To avoid contamination of the groundwater, the solid

waste from the thermal treatment process is disposed in
an open dump not underground.
3- Water management

• Mining influences the water runoff pattern of the area affected. In

some cases it requires the lowering of groundwater levels below the
level of the oil shale strata (layers) which may have harmful effects on
the surrounding arable (‫ )أرض صالحة للزراعة‬land and forest.
• In Estonia, for each cubic meter of oil shale mined, 25 cubic meters
of water must be pumped from the mine area.
• At the same time, the thermal processing of oil shale needs water for
quenching hot products and the control of dust. Depending on
technology, above-ground retorting uses between one and five barrels
of water per barrel of produced shale oil
• In situ processing, according to one estimate, uses about one-tenth
as much water.
• One environmental issue is to prevent harmful materials
leaching from spent shale into the water supply.

• The oil shale processing is accompanied by the formation of

process waters and waste waters containing phenols, tar and
several other products, that could be toxic to the environment.

• A 2008 programmatic environmental impact statement issued by

the United States Bureau of Land Management stated that
surface mining and retort operations produce 7.6 to 37.9 L of
waste water per 1 short ton (US ton, 2000 pounds= 907 kg) of
processed oil shale.
4- Air pollution management

• Main air pollution is caused by the oil shale-fired power

plants, which provide the atmospheric emissions of
gaseous products like nitrogen oxides, sulfur
dioxide and hydrogen chloride, and the airborne particulate
matter (fly ash).
• It includes particles of different types (carbonaceous,
inorganic ones) and different sizes.
• The concentration of air pollutants in flue gas depends
primarily on the combustion technology and burning
regime, while the emissions of solid particles are
determined by the efficiency of fly ash-capturing devices.
5- Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Carbon dioxide emissions from the production of shale oil and
shale gas are higher than conventional oil production

• Emissions arise from several sources.

1. the decomposition of the kerogen and carbonate minerals in
the extraction process,
2. the generation of the energy needed to heat the shale and in the
other oil and gas processing operations,
3. fuel used in the mining of the rock and the disposal of waste.

• For both power generation and oil extraction, the CO2 emissions
can be reduced by better utilization of waste heat from the
product streams.
In-situ processing
Currently, the in-situ process is the most attractive proposition due
to the reduction in standard surface environmental problems.
However, in-situ processes do involve possible significant
environmental costs to aquifers, especially since in-situ methods
may require ice-capping or some other form of barrier to restrict
the flow of the newly gained oil into the groundwater aquifers.
However, after the removal of the freeze wall these methods can
still cause groundwater contamination as the hydraulic
conductivity of the remaining shale increases allowing
groundwater to flow through and leach salts from the newly toxic
aquifer
 Shale Oil
Applications and products
• Industry can use oil shale as a fuel for thermal power-plants, burning it (like coal) to drive steam turbines; some
of these plants employ the resulting heat for district heating of homes and businesses.
• In addition to its use as a fuel, oil shale may also serve in the production of specialty carbon fibers, adsorbent
carbons, carbon black, phenols, resins, glues, tanning agents, mastic, road bitumen, cement, bricks,
construction and decorative blocks, soil-additives, fertilizers, rock-wool insulation, glass, and pharmaceutical
products. However, oil shale use for production of these items remains small or only in its experimental stages.
• Some oil shales yield sulfur, ammonia, alumina, soda ash, uranium, and nahcolite as shale-oil extraction
byproducts. Between 1946 and 1952, a marine type of Dictyonema shale served for uranium production
in Sillamäe, Estonia, and between 1950 and 1989 Sweden used alum shale for the same purposes. Oil shale
gas has served as a substitute for natural gas, but as of 2009, producing oil shale gas as a natural-gas
substitute remained economically infeasible.
• The shale oil derived from oil shale does not directly substitute for crude oil in all applications. It may contain
higher concentrations of olefins, oxygen, and nitrogen than conventional crude oil. Some shale oils may have
higher sulfur or arsenic content. By comparison with West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark standard for crude
oil in the futures-contract market, the Green River shale oil sulfur content ranges from near 0% to 4.9% (in
average 0.76%), where West Texas Intermediate's sulfur content has a maximum of 0.42%. The sulfur content in
shale oil from Jordan's oil shales may rise even up to 9.5%. The arsenic content, for example, becomes an issue
for Green River formation oil shale. The higher concentrations of these materials means that the oil must
undergo considerable upgrading (hydrotreating) before serving as oil-refinery feedstock. Above-ground retorting
processes tended to yield a lower API gravity shale oil than the in situ processes.
• Shale oil serves best for producing middle-distillates such as kerosene, jet fuel, and diesel fuel. Worldwide
demand for these middle distillates, particularly for diesel fuels, increased rapidly in the 1990s and
2000s. However, appropriate refining processes equivalent to hydrocracking can transform shale oil into a
lighter-range hydrocarbon (gasoline).
Oil Shale in Jordan
• Significant oil shale deposits are located in Jordan (equal to
about 102 billion barrels (1.62×1010 cubic meters) of shale
oil).
• In 2008, these resources were estimated 4 billion barrels
(640,000,000 cubic metres) of shale oil and 34.172 billion
barrels (5.4329×109 cubic metres) of shale oil
correspondingly
• Jordan oil shales are high quality, comparable to western
US oil shale, although their sulfur content is high.
• The best-explored deposits are El Lajjun, Sultani, and the
Juref ed Darawish are located in west-central Jordan, while
the Yarmouk deposit, close to its northern border, extends into
Syria
 ‫• الصخر الزيتي‪ -‬مصدر محلي للطاقة حان وقت استغالله‬
‫• من المتوقع ارتفاع الطلب العالمي على الطاقة بنسبة ‪ %44‬خالل العقدين القادمين ليصل‬
‫لحوالي ‪ 197‬مليون برميل نفط يوميا‪ ،‬لذا فإن هناك ضرورة ملحة على مستوى العالم‬
‫لتطوير واستغالل مصادر بديلة للطاقة‪.‬‬
‫• تتزايد هذه الضرورة في االردن تحديدا حيث يستورد الوقود التقليدي عالي التكلفة من‬
‫الخارج ويمثل حوالي ‪ %97‬من مجموع مصادر الطاقة التي يعتمد عليها في المملكة‪.‬‬
‫• حسب االستراتيجية الوطنية للطاقة لألعوام ‪ ،2020-2007‬فعلى الحكومة إحداث نقلة‬
‫نوعية في قطاع الطاقة من خالل استغالل المصادر المحلية مثل الصخر الزيتي والطاقة‬
‫المتجددة بما يضمن تقليل اإلعتماد على مصادر الطاقة المستوردة‪ ،‬حيث تهدف‬
‫االستراتيجية الى رفع مساهمة المصادر المحلية الى ‪ %39‬بحلول عام ‪ 2020‬وتخفيض‬
‫مساهمة الطاقة المستوردة من ‪ %96‬الى ‪.%61‬‬
 ‫• مزايا خصائص الصخر الزيتي االردني‬
‫• يتميز الصخر الزيتي االردني تحديدا بجودته العالية‪ ،‬كما يتميز بقربه من سطح األرض‬
‫مما يجعل التعدين السطحي مناسبا‪.‬‬
‫• يعد الصخر الزيتي في المملكة مصدرا محليا كفيال بتزويد االردن باحتياجاته من الطاقة من‬
‫مصدر وفير وقليل التكلفة وعالي الجودة ويمكن التعويل عليه بشكل كبير بما يلبي‬
‫االحتياجات المحلية من الطاقة على المدى البعيد ويسهم في مواجهة تحديات الطاقة‪.‬‬
 ‫مخزون الصخر الزيتي في االردن‬
‫• يعد الصخر الزيتي أهم الموارد الطبيعية في المملكة‪ ،‬حيث تشير الدراسات المختلفة الى أن‬
‫الصخر الزيتي متوفر في ما يزيد عن ‪ %60‬من مساحة االردن ليشكل االحتياطي ما بين‬
‫‪ 40‬الى ‪ 70‬مليار طن وقد يصل الى ‪ 100‬مليار طن‪ ،‬وهو ما يجعل عالميا في مخزون‬
‫الصخر الزيتياالردن السادسة (من الثاثة الى السابعة)‬
‫• وتتواجد أبرز خامات الصخر الزيتي في االردن في ‪ 26‬موقع مختلف في المملكة‪ ،‬فيما‬
‫تتركز أهم ‪ 8‬مواقع في غرب‪-‬وسط المملكة‬
‫• وتعمل انيفيت في مشاريع الصخر الزيتي في منطقة عطارات ام الغدران والتي تحتوي‬
‫احتياطات تصل الى ما يزيد على ‪ 3.5‬مليار طن من الصخر الزيتي‪.‬‬
‫• وباإلضافة الى المواقع المتواجدة غرب‪-‬وسط المملكة‪ ،‬فإن موقع اليرموك يعد من اهم مواقع‬
‫تواجد خامات الصخر الزيتي (وهو أول موقع تم استخدام الصخر الزيتي فيه في المملكة)‬
‫ويقع عند الحدود الشمالية‪ ،‬بينما تتواجد مواقع أخرى في محافظة معان جنوب المملكة‬
‫• توجد في األردن كميات ضخمة من الصخر الزيتي‪ ،‬وقدرت وزارة الطاقة والثروة المعدنية‬
‫احتياطي الصخر الزيتي السطحي بما يزيد عن ‪ 70‬مليار طن يحتوي على ما يزيد عن ‪7‬‬
‫مليار طن زيت صخري‬
‫ويمكن استغالل الصخر الزيتي لتوليد الكهرباء عن طريق‪:‬‬
‫‪ .1‬تسخين الصخر الزيتي العميق إلنتاج الزيت‬
‫‪ .2‬تقطير الصخر الزيتي بالتعدين السطحي إلنتاج الزيت‬
‫‪ .3‬الحرق المباشر للصخر الزيتي لتوليد الكهرباء‬
‫• والصخر الزيتي األردني هو صخر رسوبي معظمه من الكربونات والطباشير والمارل الذي‬
‫يحتوي على مادة عضوية غير ناضجة تسمى كيروجين والتي تنتج الزيت الخام عند‬
‫تسخينها إلى حوالي ‪ 500‬درجة مئوية‪.‬‬
‫• ويتواجد الصخر الزتي في الغالب في الجزء السفلي من تكوين الموقر الطباشيري من عمر‬
‫(الماسترختيان‪-‬الباليوسين) حيث يتكون من الحجر الجيري والمارل والطباشير والفوسفات‬
‫• يعد الصخر الزيتي في المملكة األردنية الهاشمية مصدرا للنفط والمواد الخام‬
‫األخرى‪ ،‬الكفيلة بتزويد األردن باحتياجاته من الطاقة‪ ،‬ويتميز الصخر الزيتي‬
‫بوفرة وجودته باإلضافة الى قلة تكلفة استخراجه‪.‬‬
‫• المواقع‪:‬‬
‫• يوجد أكثر من ‪ 18‬موقع معروف للصخر الزيتي في األردن‪ ،‬وقامت سلطة‬
‫المصادر الطبيعية سابقا بدراسة العديد ومن هذه المواقع مثل اللجون والسلطاني‬
‫وجرف الدراويش وعطارات أم الغدران ووادي مغار وسواقة وخان الزبيب‬
‫والثمد‪.‬‬
‫• وتقع معظم تلك المواقع الرئيسية وذات األهمية التجارية المثبتة في وسط األردن‬
‫وجنوبه‪ ،‬ويمكن الوصول إليها عبر الطريق الصحراوي بين عمان والعقبة‪.‬‬
‫• ويتواجد في مناطق وادي النعضية وإسفير المحطــة وجبــال غزيمــه ووادي أبو‬
‫الحمام ووادي الــذروة وغيرهــا‪،‬‬
‫الدولة السادسة على مستوى العالم من حيث النسب والجودة العالية‪.‬‬

‫الأردن تعوم على بحر من الصخر الزيتي وليس النفط"‬

‫ان احتياطي الصخر الزيتي الموجود في األردن يبلغ حوالي من "‪ "60‬الى "‪ "70‬بليون طن‪ ،‬وإذا‬
‫افترضنا ‪ %10‬من الزيت المحصور داخل الصخر الزيتي تعني من "‪ ”7-6‬مليار طن من البترول‬
 ‫• أن ‪ % 60‬من أراضي االردن تحتوي صخر زيتي‬
‫• قدر خبراء مختصون في الطاقة والثروة المعدنية احتياطي المملكة من الصخر الزيتي بنحو‬
‫‪ 100‬مليار طن‪.‬‬
‫أن األردن يحتل المركز الثالث عالميا في احتياط الصخر الزيتي؛ األمر الذي يدعو إلى‬
‫تطوير مشاريعه كمصدر بديل للطاقة‪.‬‬
‫• استخراج بترول تصل ما بين ‪ ٪12 - ٪8‬من المحتوى‬
‫• تكلفة إنتاج النفط من الصخر الزيتي في األردن تقدر بـ ‪ 32‬دوالر‬
‫• لزيت الصخري األردني يشكل عام جيد جدا‪ ،‬إذ أن محتوى الرطوبة والرماد داخله‬
‫منخفض نسبيا‪ .‬وإجمالي القيمة الحرارية (‪ 7.5‬ميغاجول ‪ /‬كلغ)‪ ،‬وله محتوي كبريتي‬
‫يصل إلى ‪ ٪9‬من وزن المحتوي العضوي‪ .‬االحتياطيات التي يمكن استغاللها سهل الوصل‬
‫لها‪ ،‬إذ أن معظمها في مناجم مكشوفه سطحي‬