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Oil Shale/ Tar Sands Links

Quick links to content on this page:

Federal and State Agencies
Studies/ Reports
Fact Sheets
Industry Web Sites
Visual resources/ Maps
Tar Sands
Misc. Resources

In addition to oil shale information available through WRA's oil shale report and interactive maps, the following links provide access to other resources on oil shale:

Federal, State Agencies and Oil Shale

Studies/ Reports on Oil Shale

Energy-Water Nexus: A Better and Coordinated Understanding of Water Resources Could Help Mitigate the Impacts of Potential Oil Shale Development - Oct. 2010 GAO report
Oil Shale Development in the United States - 2005 RAND Corp oil shale report
Oil Shale: History, Incentives, and Policy - 2006 Congressional Research Service report
Developments in Oil Shale - November 2008 Congressional Research Service report on latest knowledge about oil shale production
Converting Oil Shale to Liquid Fuels: Energy Inputs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of the Shell in Situ Conversion Process - Brandt Study
Northwest Colorado Socioeconomic Analysis and Forecasts - Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado Energy Study
Energy Development Water Needs Assessment - Yampa/ River Basins Water Roundtable Report
National Commission on Energy Policy Unconventional Fuels Issue Brief
Shale Oil -- The Elusive Energy - influential paper by Walter Youngquist
Potential Groundwater and Surface Water Impacts from Oil Shale and Tar Sands Production - Argonne National Labs Study
Assessment of in-Place Oil Shale Resources in Piceance Basin - 2009 USGS study presentation
Water Rights Related to Oil Shale Development in the Upper Colorado River Basin - Congressional Research Services
NPC Topic Paper on Oil Shales
Driving it Home: Choosing the Right Path for Fueling North America’s Transportation Future
CO2 Releases from In-Situ Oil Shale Production - Colorado School of Mines
Laherrere 2005 Oil Shale Review - Former petroleum engineer's analysis of oil shale
Comparison of the Acceptability of Various Oil Shale Processes - 2006 Lawrence Livermore Labs Study
Policy Issues for Oil Shale Development - James Bartis (RAND Corp.) Testimony 2007
Gauging the Prospects of a U. S. Oil Shale Industry - 2004 Rand Corp research brief
What Every Westerner Should Know About Oil Shale - 2009 report from the Center of the American West
Converting Green River Oil Shale into Liquid Fuels - 2007 presentation to Oil Shale Symposium by Dr. Adam Brandt
Oil Shale: 14 Unanswered Questions - 2009 study by Headwaters Economics
A study on the EU oil shale industry – viewed in the light of the Estonian experience - 2007 study by EASAC looking oil shale's value and concerns from an EU perspective.
Environmental Problems in the Estonian Oil Shale Industry - 2009 study
Lifecycle Analysis of the Estonian Oil Shale Industry - very thorough study from 2005 of the broad array of impacts from the country with the longest history of oil shale use
Chemistry and Minerology of Wastes from Retorting and Combustion of Oil Shale - refer to pages 263-282 after clicking the link
Environmental Review of Selected Oil Shale Technologies - 2008 National Energy Technology Laboratory presentation
Utah Mining Association White Paper on Oil Shale and Tar Sands Development
Oil Shale and Nahcolite Resources of the Piceance Basin, Colorado - USGS report
Geology and Resources of Some World Oil Shale Deposits - 2005 USGS report
Prospective Analysis of the Potential Non Conventional World Oil Supply - 2005 EU report with lengthy sections on oil shale and tar sands.
UK Oil Shale Guide
Oil Shale Extraction Techniques

Fact Sheets

Industry web sites

Profiles of Companies Engaged in Domestic Oil Shale and Tar Sands - US Dept.of Energy report
American Resource Petroleum Corp. - working in Utah oil shale and tar sands
American Shale Oil (AMSO)- Formerly EGL. Owned by IDT and French supermajor oil company Total.
Ambre Energy - purchased small-scale UT oil shale operation Oil Tech, is the second largest holder of oil shale leases in Utah
AuraFuel Process from AuraSource - Round II oil shale lease applicant with links to Chinese industry
Bechtel/ Parsons Radio Frequency Oil Shale extraction tests
Bleeding Rock's chemical extraction process
Chattanooga Process
Combustion Resources
Comparison of in situ technologies by Phoenix Wyoming, Inc.
Earth Energy Resources - a Canadian company planning to develop UT tar sands resources with concentrated solvents. Used a reverse takeover in April 2011 to create a new operating name of US Oil Sands Inc.
Ecoshale's extraction process - process licensed to Red Leaf Resources
EGL Resources- old website, now American Shale Oil (AMSO) after being purchased by IDT
EncapSol chemical extraction process (Freestone Resources)
Enefit American Oil - new name for the Estonian-owned company formerly known as the Oil Shale Exploration Company (OSEC)
Enshale's extraction process - A division of Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc.
ExxonMobil's electrofrac conversion process
General Synfuels - company pursuing Omnishale technology tests in WY and CO
Genie Energy - a subsidiary of IDT/ AMSO working on oil shale ventures in Israel
Global Resource Corp. - pursuing microwave technology to extract oil shale.
Independent Energy Partners - owners of oil shale rights on private property in Rio Blanco County, CO
JOSCo - Royal Dutch Shell's Jordanian oil shale subsidiary. JOSCo is planning to experiment with the same in-situ technology that Shell is testing in Colorado's Piceance Basin.
Mountain West Energy - oil shale company focusing on developing Utah deposits
Natural Resources USA Corporation - formerly AmerAlia, parent company of Natural Soda, Inc. Changed name Sept. 2010. Sentient Group is a large shareholder.
Natural Soda Inc. - applicant for Round II oil shale leases. Parent company is Ameralia (now Natural Resources USA Corp.).
Oil Shale Alliance, Inc. - a consortium involving Petroprobe, Phoenix Wyoming, and Independent Energy Partners
OSEC - Oil Shale Exploration Company. Has rights to over 30,000 acres of Utah oil shale deposits. On March 9, 2011, OSEC was purchased by Estonian company Enefit, also known as Eesti Energia.
PARAHO retort
Petroprobe - now part of Oil Shale Alliance
Phoenix Wyoming, Inc. - now part of Oil Shale Alliance
Pyrophase - seeks to combine RF and microwave technologies
Queensland Energy Resources - Australian firm with US owners conducting tests of PARAHO process in Colorado
Raytheon's radio frequency/ critical fluid extraction process - technology sold to oilfield services company Schlumberger
Redleaf Resources - testing In-capsule technology in Utah
San Leon Energy- pursuing oil shale research in Moroccan oil shale deposits
Shale Technologies, LLC
Shell Mahogany Project
Shell Freeze Wall Test presentationowners of small PARAHO-type retort near Rifle, CO
Tomco - British company with 3,000 leased acres in Utah, attempting to use Ecoshale process from Red Leaf.
TOSCO company history
US Oil Sands, Inc. - new name for the former Earth Energy Resources, a company trying to use a solvent-based method to extract tar sands from Utah deposits. Also, see a presentation of their plans and public land leases.

Visual Resources/Maps

Maps of oil shale/ tar sands lands
Map of Green River Formation
Map of Round 2 OIl shale leases in Western Colorado (BLM)
Photos of Oil Shale
Heritage West photo archive search under "oil shale" for photos of old Colorado oil shale projects
Denver Public Library photo archive search under "oil shale" for photos of old Colorado oil shale projects
BLM photo archive, containing oil shale images
SkyTruth oil shale/ tar sands images
Ecoflight images of oil shale in the Piceance Basin
Audubon Magazine Oil Shale video
Petrobras Presentation to Jordan on Oil Shale Technology
University of Utah Interactive Oil Shale, Tar Sands, Heavy Oil Map
Ecoflight Video: Investing Red Leaf Resources
"Dirty Oil" movie - feature length movie about Alberta tar sands devastation that streams in segments

Tar Sands

University of Utah Heavy Oil Program - research portal for UT tar sands, oil shale information
Earth Energy Resources tar sands extraction process - has filed to mine tar sands in Utah
Temple Mountain Energy - Utah tar sands producer
Syncrude Canada - Alberta tar sands producer
Nevtah Capital Management - Utah Tar Sands Deposits
Korea Technology Industry America, Inc. - developer of Utah tar sands primarily for paving materials. See video of their process.
Utah Governor's 10-year energy plan
Dirty Oil: How the Tar Sands are Fueling the Global Climate Crisis - 2009 report published by Greenpeace Canada
Oil Sands Fever: Environmental Implications of Canada's Oil Sands Rush -2005 Pembina Institute study
Death by 1000 Cuts: Impacts of In Situ Oil Sands Development on Alberta's Boreal Forest - 2006 Pembina Institute study
Far Country - Canyonlands Watershed Council Oil Shale and Tar Sands page. Hosts thorough documentation of oil shale and tar sands activities in Utah
Sierra Club Tar Sands Fact Sheet
Tar Sands Truth
Tar Sands Watch
National Geographic Alberta Tar Sands article
Luc Bourgeois tar sands photos
Garth Lenz Tar sands aerial photos - look under "index" then "environmental threats"
Louis Helbig tar sands aerial images
Dirty Oil Sands website - downloadable images and B-roll
Tipping Point: The Age of the Oil Sands - a CBC documentary from Jan. 2011 looking at impacts of tar sands development. The whole episode is available via online streaming.
"Downstream" - a film about the effects of tar sands development on water quality for downstream communities in Canada
"H2Oil" - a film about the link between Alberta oil sands and the human health effects of its toxic water waste
Oil Sands Review - Canadian industry trade magazine
"Evaluation of Four Reports on Contamination of the Athabasca River System by Oil Sands Operations" report - Released March 2011. Found that tar sands development in Alberta is depositing toxins into the ecosystem and that environmental impacts are largely unknown.

Other Resources

Oil Shale and Tar Sands links
The Illusive Bonanza: Oil Shale in Colorado by Randy Udall
Shale Oil--The Elusive Energy a geologic evaluation of oil shale by Walter Youngquist
NRDC Stop Dirty Fuels Page
Utah Heavy Oil Program
No Dirty Energy Oil Shale and Tar Sands pages
Tar Sands/ Oil Shale Terms Glossary
Shell Glossary of Petroleum Terms
Colorado's Decision Support System - a resource for investigating water rights
Mercury in Oil Shale - Western Research Institute
The Dirtiest Fuel in the World - TWS Oil Shale blog
How the West's Energy Boom Could Threaten Drinking Water for 1 in 12 Americans - ProPublica and San Diego Union-Tribune article
Oil Shale Post blog
The Oil Drum - blog on petroleum issues that frequently reports on oil shale
Piceance Basin Water Quality Data Repository - monitors effects of energy development in the Piceance Basin, home to vast oil shale deposits
White River Water - a group focused on White River Basin oil shale water rights
Technical Technical Aspects of Oil Shale Production and Processing presentation
Modeling In Situ Extraction of Heavy Oil Deposits presentation
Scottish Shale Oil - historical archive of Scotland's now defunct oil shale/ parafin industry

For access to the full "Water on the Rocks" report, visit the main report page. Access to the interactive maps that complement the report can be gained on the oil shale maps page.

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