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The Sleeping Oil Giant: How Much Energy Treasure Does Oil Shale Really Hide?
Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock rich in organic matter. It mainly contains cutin, a solid organic compound from which liquid hydrocarbons can be extracted. In addition to cutin, oil shale also includes inorganic substances and bitumen. According to its depositional environment, oil shale can be divided into marine, lacustrine and terrestrial types. Unlike shale (tight oil) from oil wells, oil shale can be burned directly for use as fuel, for power generation and district heating, or as feedstock for chemical and building materials processing. Although oil shale may be an abundant source of oil, its development is subject to environmental and economic challenges. Only Estonia and China have solid oil shale industries.
2016 estimates put global oil shale reserves at 600.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, setting the stage for oil shale's importance as a potential energy treasure.
The geological structure of oil shale is relatively complex. As an organically rich sedimentary rock, its mineral composition, chemical composition, age and cutin types are all different. Although recoverable oil shale resources exist around the world, economically viable reserves are concentrated in a few areas, including the Green River Formation in the United States and China. According to data, the ratio of organic matter to mineral matter in mature oil shale is approximately 0.75:5 to 1.5:5, indicating that its organic matter ratio is lower than that of coal.
In modern times, humans have been using oil shale as fuel since prehistoric times, and even as early as 3000 AD, oil shale has been used to build roads and make building materials. Over time, the application of oil shale has continued to expand. Although many countries have abandoned this industry due to high processing costs, there are still countries such as Estonia and China that are actively using oil shale for power generation.
Oil shale mining and processing leading to environmental problems include a series of challenges such as land use, waste disposal, water use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Oil shale is mined mainly through open-pit mining or strip mining. Among these methods, the most common is open-pit mining, which can be either direct combustion or further processing to convert cutin into oil through a chemical pyrolysis process. Although technically feasible, the cost and environmental impact of extracting this resource have become major factors restricting its development.
Economy and Future Outlook
The economic development of oil shale depends on whether its production cost is lower than the price of crude oil. According to a survey by RAND Company, if oil shale extraction can be controlled between US$70 and US$95 per barrel, it may achieve better economic benefits in the future. As technology advances, mining costs are expected to gradually decrease as production scale expands.
Although the development potential of oil shale is huge, many challenges still need to be solved during its development and expansion, including environmental impact assessment and sustainable development issues. As global energy demand continues to rise and renewable energy technologies develop, the role of oil shale may be re-evaluated. With all these factors changing, can oil shale truly become a reliable component of the global energy ecosystem?
