Oil Shale Development Projections: When Will Technology and Economics Convert This Resource Into Reserves?

摘要

Future work to further refine the estimate of recoverable oil shale resources in the Green River Formation will include analysis of how shale oil is likely to be produced based on technological limitations, particularly how much of the resource can be mined and utilized by surface-processing methods and how much can be developed through the application of in situ retorting technologies. At present, however, it is uncertain as to what level of oil shale development may ultimately be possible in the Green River Formation, given the many variables that bear on the question, or if significant development will ever occur.