3tl;aca, UStm ^atk BOUGHT WITH THE [NCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE 1891 Cornell University Library TN 871.A36 The oil shale industry, 3 1924 004 123 661 The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924004123661 THE OIL SHALE INDUSTRY COLORADO OIL SHALE Frontispiece THE OIL SHALE INDUSTRY BY VICTOR CLIFTON ALDERSON, Sc.D. PRESIDENT, COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES, GOLDEN, COLORADO WITB FIFTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOOBAPHS NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1920, by Frederick A. Stokes Company All Rights Reserved PREFACE To describe an industry which, is still in its primary stage is not an easy task. Without defi- nite commercial results to record, without well established processes to describe, and with infor- mation on all phases of the subject widely scat- tered and known only to the particular persons interested, the preparation of the present volume has been difficult. However, the recent striking demand in industrial life for oil in its many forms, the failure of domestic wells to meet this demand in full, the rapid advance in the price of petroleum, the warning of geologists and government experts that the underground supply of oil cannot much longer be depended upon to supply the ever increasing demand, all unite in pointing unerr- ingly to the one permanent supply of the raw material which we have — the deposits of oil shale. Whether we wish it to be so or not, we shall soon be forced to resort to the oil shales for our supply of oil. Eegardless of the number and complexity of problems to be solved in establishing the oil shale industry on a commercial basis, yet they must be solved, and it remains for the American mining engineer, chemist, and inventor to provide the solution, else our boasted industrial life will vi PEEFACE vanish. The successful retorting of oil from shale and the establishment of the oil shale industry on a permanent and profitable basis is the great problem of this decade. No other phase of our industrial life can compare "vcith it. The finger of fate points towards it. Methods of investigation, both in the field and in the laboratory, are far from being standard- ized. The character of the shale, methods of attack, as well as the skUl of the experimenter, all combine to make reports of results vary widely. It is hoped that in the near future the scientific principles underlying the treatment of oil shale wiU be so well understood and the methods of work so well standardized that a proper compari- son of results may be made. In the present state of the industry this is impossible. In order to meet the widespread demand for information of a comprehensive nature this vol- ume has been prepared as a modest contribution. My thanks are due to the many workers, widely scattered, who have contributed in no small degree to our sum total of information, but especially are my thanks due to Professors Albert H. Low, and Clayton W. Botkin of the Department of Chemis- try; and John C. WiUiams, Assistant Director of the Department of Metallurgical Research, of the Colorado School of Mines; also to my secretary, Miss Zelda Margaret Moynahan. ViCTOB C. Aldeesob-. CONTENTS PAGE Preface v CHAPTER I The Dawn of a New Industry 1 The Dawn; Present Condition of Petroleum In- dustry; Report of the United States Bureau of Mines; Well Production; Status of the Oil Fields; Prices of Crude Oil; New Uses for Petroleum. CHAPTER II Nature, Origin, and Distribution of Oil Shale 15 Nature; Origin; World-wide Distribution; Scotland; Description of the Scotch Works; Isle of Skye; England; Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, New- foundland); France; Australia; Transvaal; Brazil; Sweden; Uintah Basin; Colorado; Nevada; Montana. CHAPTER III The History of Oil Shale 33 Early Investigations in Scotland; Present Develop- ment in the United States; Elko Shale Plant; Catlin Shale Products Company; Colorado; Utah. viii CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER IV Mining Oil Shale 46 Methods; Breaking; Mining Regulations; Testing Oil Shale Ground; Leasing Oil Shale Ground. CHAPTER V Retorting and Reduction 52 Nature of Shale Oil or Petroleum; Importance of the Retort; Chemical Principles; Destructive Distillation of Oil Shale; Fundamental Requirements for a Retort (Scientific, Economic); Scotch and American Shales Compared; Pumpherston (Scotch) Retort; Condenser; Ammonia Scrubber Plant; Gasoline Absorption Plant; Ammonia Liquor — Sulphate of Ammonia Plant; Gas (Analysis of), (Heat Value Produced); Gasoline; Com- plete Plant. CHAPTER VI Experimental and Research Work .... 81 Need of Experimental Work; Experimental Work of J. B. Jones; Tests of Dragon, Utah Shales; United States Geological Survey (Field Distillation, Simunary of Tests, Dry and Steam Distillation); Colorado School of Mines (Method of Analysis, Tests, General Investigations, Chemical Investigations) ; Black Shales of the Eastern States; Refining Tests; De-polymeri- zation. CHAPTER VII Economic Factors 116 Investment Value and Income; Shale Oil and Well Oil per Square Mile; Value of Oil Shale Land; Location of Oil Shale Claims; Scotch Dividends; Cost of Mining, Retorting, and Refining; Shale Oil Versus Well Oil; Economic Conditions; Capital. CONTENTS ix CHAPTER VIII FAQI: StTMMABT . . 130 Significant Features. CHAPTER IX Opinions . . 139 Franklia K. Lane; Van. H. Manning; George Otis Smith; Chester G. Gilbert; Joseph E. Pogue; Dorsey Hager; Guy EUiott Mitchell; Dean E. Winchester; Walter Clark Teagle; M. L. Requa. CHAPTER X The Future 158 Future; Possibilities of the Oil Shale Industry; Oil Shale Comes into Its Own; An Acute Situation; For- eign Supply; Fundamental Characteristics of the In- dustry. Bibliography . 163 Index 171 ILLUSTRATIONS Colorado Oil Shale Frontispiece FACING PAGE Oil Shale — General Fohmation. Colorado . 10 Colohado Oil Shale 11 Paper Shale. Colorado 30 Massive Shale. Utah 31 Utah Oil Shale 38 A Mountain or Oil Shale. Colorado ... 39 Oil Shale. Utah 46 Massive Shale. Colorado 47 Oil Shale Cliff. Utah 64 Oil Shale. Colorado 65 Mount Logan. Colorado 94 Apparatus for Oil Shale Analysis, Oil Shale Laboratory, Colorado School of Mines. Golden, Colorado 95 Oil Shale. Utah 120 A Mountain of Oil Shale. Colorado . . . 121 THE OIL. SHALE INDUSTRY OIL SHALE INDUSTRY CHAPTER I THE DAWN OF A NEW INDUSTET Eecent years have been filled with stirring and far-reaching events, world wide in their effect, not ■ the least of which has been the birth of a new industry, with a potential supply of raw material that almost defies mathe- matical computation and staggers the imagina- tion. Can oil wells produce enough petroleum to meet the enormous demand now existing for oil and its products? The answer is doubtful. Will new oil fields be discovered to meet the increased demand in the future? The answer is extremely doubtful. Yet this is the age of oil. Oil we must have. The future supply must come from our great deposits of oil shale. If oil is the "king" then oil shale is the "heir apparent." From 1857 the total of the world production of petroleum was 6,996,674,563 barrels; of this, the United States produced 4,252,644,- ^j^^ Present 003 barrels. There are now approxi- Condition mately 250,000 producing oil wells in Petroleum the United States. The average yield industry is only four and a half barrels a day. Among the 1 2 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY great producers is the Burkburnett pool in Texas that has produced more than 7,000,000 barrels of oil and the Eanger pool that has produced more than 12,000,000 barrels. The average output in Wyoming is 40 barrels a well per day. The low average for the whole country of only four and a half barrels a day is caused by thousands of wells in the older fields that produce less than a quarter of a barrel a day. Of the total number of wells in the United States four-fifths do not yield more than a barrel of oil daily. The United States Bureau of Mines recently made a report to the Secretary of the Treasury on the subject in which it said : Unfted States ' ' The United States Geological Sur- Bureau of vey makes the pessimistic report that Mines j j e l our underground reserves are lorty per cent exhausted and that we probably are near the peak of domestic production. The consump- tion of petroleum is increasing far more rapidly than domestic production. During 1918, 39,000,000 barrels of oil were imported from foreign coun- tries and 27,000,000 barrels were withdrawn from stocks. ' ' Our future supply of petroleum must be con- served, and it is therefore imperative that the United States make every possible effort to fur- ther more efficient conservation of our under- ground reserves of oil and the more efficient utilization of petroleum and its products, because : "First. Petroleum has become the fundamental THE DAWN OF A NEW INDUSTEY 3 basis of the industrial and military life of the nation in that gasoline has become the motive power for six million automobiles and trucks, for airplanes, farm tractors, and motor boats. Fuel oil has become necessary for our navy, our mer- chant marine, and larger industrial plants. Lubri- cating oil is essential for machinery of all kinds and without it not a wheel would turn. "Second. The potential supplies of crude oil outside of the United States are passing almost entirely into the political and economical control of foreign governments, and the United States is likely to pass from the position of dominance into a position of dependence. * ' Third. Investigations of the Bureau of Mines, of the Fuel Administration, and of other bodies have disclosed that the known oil reserves of the United States are not receiving adequate protec- tion, and are being wasted through inefficient metho.ds in production, refining, and utilization of the oil." The report says the Fuel Administration has made an investigation which shows that in 1917 in the exploitation of petroleum and natural gas in the United States the total waste in oil and gas amounted to $2,000,000,000, and continues : "The need for petroleum reaches every citizen in the United States. The number of automobiles is increasing at the rate of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 a year. Through pleasure cars, trucks, and farm 4 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY tractors, every family in the United States is vir- tually interested in gasoline. " Through lubricating oils every person in the United States has a direct interest. Lubricating oils are one of the three essentials of modern civilization and in equal importance to steel and coal, for without lubricating oils no machinerj'' would be possible. "The supply of fuel oil is, in the opinion of marine engineers, the strategic point for our merchant marine and in the development of any modern navy." The uncertainty of dependence upon new wells to supply the increased demand for oil is well illustrated by the compilation of the Boston News Bureau of January 27, 1920, viz. : Producing wells completed in the oil fields east of the Rocky Mountains in 1919 averaged 65 bar- rels daily output a well, initial flow, i^oduction '^^^^ compares with 90 barrels a well for 1918. Out of the 28,462 wells drilled in 1919, 5,951, or 21 per cent, were dry. North Louisiana wells, brought in in 1919, aver- aged 887 barrels daily production. North Texas 595, and Gulf Coast 432.5 barrels. Producing wells brought in in the Pennsylvania fields averaged the smallest of any division — 10.5 bar- rels a well. Grulf Coast fields showed the largest number of dry holes, comparatively, as 561 out of 1,236 completions, or 45 per cent, were dry. Kentucky-Tennessee completions, numbering THE DAWN OF A NEW INDUSTRY 5 3,716 for the year, showed only 421, or 11 per cent dry holes. The following shows the number of completions, dry holes, and initial daily output per well, in oil districts east of the Eockies during 1919: Completions Dry holes Average initial daily production of bblfl. per well No. % Pennsylvania Lima-Indiana Central Ohio 5,178 834 940 3,716 370 3,432 8,196 3,564 704 1,236 303 753 159 221 421 112 640 2,266 598 123 561 87 5,941 14 19 23 11 30 18 27 16 17 45 28 21 10.5 21 39 Kentucky-Tennessee. . Illinois 34 44 Kansas 208 93.5 North Texas 595 North Loviisiana Gulf Coast 887 432.5 Wynming 275 Total 28,473 165 The average initial daily output of completions in the Pennsylvania fields, amounting to 10.5 bar- rels a well, is more than twice the average output of 4.5 barrels a well for the 225,000 producing wells in the United States. In the oil shale indus- try, the raw material for oil shale is absolutely certain and virtually inexhaustible, but the under- ground supply of petroleum is always an uncer- tain quantity and sooner or later is exhausted. For these reasons it is imperative that the United States take every step possible toward conserv- OIL SHALE INDUSTRY ing its known reserves of oil. Petroleum and natural gas are not being replaced by nature and, once gone, cannot be replaced. Many significant figures could be given, but a few will suffice. Total number of reg- istered autoiuobiles in the U. S. 1914 1,700,000 1918 6,146,000 Production of Gasoline in the U. S. 1,460,037,200 gallons 3,570,312,963 gallons Increase in automobiles, 260 per cent; in pro- duction of gasoline, 145 per cent. It is predicted that 2,000,000 automobiles will be made in 1920. Statistics furnished by the United States Geo- logical Survey give the following interesting comparisons : Amount of Crude Oil in Storage Amount of Crude Oil Marketed Dec. 31, 1915 Dec. 31, 1916 Dec. 31, 1917 Dec. 31, 1918 194,185,000 barrels 179,371,000 barrels 156,168,000 barrels 132,800,000 barrels During 1915, 281,104,104 barrels During 1916, 300,767,158 barrels During 1917, 335,315,600 barrels During 1918, 345,896,000 barrels Thus, during these four years the amount marketed increased from 281 to 345 million bar- rels; the reserve supply — that held in storage — decreased from 194 to 132 million barrels. From a production of 33 million barrels in 1891, the Pennsylvania fields have declined to 7,400,000 bar- rels in 1918. This gives the key to the oil situa- tion. Oil pools are merely reservoirs certain to become exhausted in the course of a few years. THE DAWN OF A NEW INDUSTRY 7 Examining the condition of the refining of oil T^e find that from January to September, 1918, the refineries consumed 182,000,000 barrels. During the same period the production was only 170,000,- 000 barrels. To meet this loss 12,000,000 barrels had to be drawn from storage, or more than a million barrels a month. The enormous extent of the oil industry, the widespread demand for oil, and its influence upon industrial life may be seen from a glance at the following tables from the Wall Street Journal: Cbude Oil Peoduction and Consumption in the United States Excess of Year Consumption Production Consumption over Production 1912 225,000,000 balrela 224,000,000 barrels 1,000,000 barrels 1913 260,000,000 barrels 250,000,000 barrels 10,000,000 barrels 1914 280,000,000 barrels 204,000,000 barrels 16,000,000 barrels 1915 296,000,000 barrels 280,000,000 barrels 16,000,000 barrels 1916 320,000,000 barrels 300,000,000 barrels 20,000,000 barrels 1917 376,000,000 barrels 325,000,000 barrels 51,000,000 barrels 1918 396,000,000 barrels 340,000,000 barrels 56,000,000 barrels The production for 1919 was 366,255,611 barrels, an increase of 26 millions over 1918, but the con- sumption has reached an estimated figure of 436,- 000,000 barrels or an excess of consumption over production of 70 million barrels, compared with an excess of 56 million barrels in 1918, 51 million in 1917, and only 20 million in 1916. The estimated production for 1920 is 400 million barrels and this is regarded as the peak of production. OIL SHALE INDUSTEY Impoetb fbom Mexico 1912 1,000,000 bbl. 1913 10,000,000 bbl. 1914 16,000,000 bbl. 1915 16,000,000 bbl. 1916 20,000,000 bbl. 1917 28,000,000 bbl. 1918 41,000,000 bbl. 1919 60,000,000 bbl. (Estimated) U. S. Production by Fields Estimated Available Oil 1917 1918 in Ground (Nov., 1919) 1^ 24,932,000 bbL 3,670,000 bbl. 15,777,000 bbl. 163,506,000 bbl. 24,343,000 bbl. 9,199,000 bbl. 93,878,000 bbl. 10,300 bbl. 25,401,000 bbl. 3,221,000 bbl. 13,366,000 bbl. 179,383,000 bbl. 24,208,000 bbl. 12,809,000 bbl. 97,532,000 bbl. 7,943 bbl. 550,000,000 bbl. T.iTTif^Tnf1|f\Tifv , 40,000,000 bbL Illinois 175,000,000 bbl. Mid-Continent 1,725,000,000 bbl. GuM 750,000,000 bbl. Rocky Mountain 2,250,000,000 bbl. Other Kelds '1,250,000,000 bbl. ' Including Wyoming and Rocky Mountain. Production by Products in 1918 Gasoline 85,000,000 bbl. Kerosene 43,400,000 bbl. Gas and Fuel OU 174,300,000 bbl. Lubricants 20,000,000 bbl. Wax 1,900,000 bbl. Coke 3,600,000 bbl. Asphalt 33,500,000 bbl. Other products . . 30,600,000 bbl. Total 392,300,000 bbl. The Appalachian field is the oldest in the United States. Oil was first found by Col. Drake at Titus- e. . r .1. "^ill^j Pennsylvania, in 1859. Until Status of the ^nni- -r» i Oil Produc- 1885 Pennsylvania produced virtually ing Fields ^j^g gj^|.-j,g output of the country or 98.50 per cent. The maximum output occurred in THE DAWN OF A NEW INDUSTRY icomooo isoooom nsBoom IQODOOSXX rsMoooo i 1 ^ soaxm ., iSDooax. " ioimooo — — — — — — — 1 / -r 1 1 / 1 . PRODUCTION . f OP : PETROLEUM ^ / IN THE / UNITED STATES ' / inrin lom / lyuu-iyiy BY FIELDS - 1 t ./ '1 1 \ ^ *' /' / \ ^ ) / ' / V h.^ i f ~° ■c" 1 'ft ^'/ 1 t / , 1 / / _. < — / ^ Lii - 7 ^ Z ^ h Lfii hj. •." 5£ ^/ X, - ^ — ^ i f- jf^ , o/ ^ 1 taooaooo / / «* ^ "'' <> ' /' i / s^ ss, r- n J, ^^ ^ __ / / /=rn KK tIN rnl -i^ ^- ^^ "^ <: c S > lo O ly, o ' S S s s^ 10 OIL SHALE INDUSTEY 1900 — 36 million barrels. Since that time the out- put has decreased to 25,401,000 barrels in 1918. The Lima-Indiana field has been a producer since 1884. The output was greatest in 1904, 24,689,184 barrels. This has decreased to 3,211,- 000 barrels in 1918. The Illinois field became a producer in 1905. The maximum production was reached in 1908 — 33,686,000 barrels. This has declined to 13,366,000 barrels in 1918. The Mid-Continent field became an important producer in 1904 and has increased its output steadily to 179,383,000 barrels in 1918. It is esti- mated, however, that for 1919 the production has dropped to 115,000,000 barrels. The North Texas field became important in 1911. The production in 1918 was 17,280,612 bar- rels ; this has been increased to 67,419,000 barrels in 1919. The Gulf field became important in 1901. The maximum output was reached in 1905 — 36,526,- 323 barrels ; this fell to 24,208,000 in 1918. The Eocky Mountain field, before 1912, produced less than one million barrels a year, but this amount has increased to 12,809,000 barrels in 1918; the peak of production has not yet been reached. In the California field the maximum production was reached in 1914—100,000,000 barrels ; in 1918 it fell to 97,532,000 barrels. To generalize: the Appalachian, Lima-Indiana, COLORADO OIL SHALE THE DAWN OF A NEW INDUSTRY 11 and Illinois fields have passed their peak of pro- duction; the Gulf, California and Mid-Continent have just about reached their peak ; North Louisi- ana, North Texas, and the Rocky Mountain fields have not reached their peak and largely increased production may be expected. The advance in the price of crude oil is likewise suggestive : Pennsylvania .... Corning Cabell Somerset Baglsind North Lima South Lima Princeton Indiana Illinois Kansas-Oklahoma Healdton Caddo, heavy. . . . Canada Current Price July, 1920 $6.10 4.00 3.92 3.75 1.75 3.73 3.73 3.77 3.63 3.77 3.50 2.75 2.00 4.13 Low Price in 1915 $1.35 .83 .97 .80 .63 .93 .88 .89 .83 .89 .40 .30 .35 1.28 Fuel oil is variously quoted, according to the section of the country in which it is sold, but in general it may be said that current prices are from 30 to 50 per cent above those of January 1, 1919, and from 100 to 300 per cent and more above the lows of 1914. Refined products as yet have not displayed the same strong tendency to advance as noted in crude, but that is natural in view of the 12 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY fact that the refined output is being forced to capacity in every plant. Practically all refined products are at the highest price levels in their history, with an extremely firm undertone. There is likely to be a sudden and sharp increase in prices for all refined products, according to the best opinion, for the greatest demand ever known is in prospect. Inasmuch as high prices result in more active drilling operation, oil companies are preparing to make 1920 a year of banner produc- tion, so that the peak of well petroleum will very likely be reached, but thereafter a steady decline will probably ensue. Besides the common uses of petroleum, known to every one, the following new uses will form in- creased demands : 1. Airplanes. Since the close of the war and the abandonment of the airplane for war work, industrial uses are open for it. Al- New Uses - . - ., .... for Petro- ready aenal mail service is m lorce; *"" next will be light express service, and then passenger service. Soon the planes wiU be almost as common in the air as birds and rapid transportation will be revolutionized. 2. Motor trucks. Between the large centers of population and the surrounding towns, as well as from the smaller distributing centers, the auto truck has begun to displace railroad freight service in the branch and short haul. The four handlings of the freight service is reduced to two. To this is the added advantage of frequent direct service. THE DAWN OF A NEW INDUSTRY 13 In 1904 only 411 motor trucks of a total wholesale value of $946,947 were manufactured. In 1919, 305,142 motor trucks were manufactured, of a total value of $408,311,585. 3. Tractors. Tractors for farm use form the next step in farm improvement. Their advantage is very great and their increased use unquestioned. 4. Oil burning steamers. The use of petroleum as fuel in steamers is rapidly increasing. A ton of oil occupies five cubic feet less space than a ton of coal and gives eighty per cent steaming effi- ciency as compared with sixty-five per cent for coal. The increased cargo room available, when oil is used, with the certainty of enhanced finan- cial returns from freight, makes the use of oil on all classes of steamers in the near future a fore- gone conclusion. 5. Oil for road use. The cheaper grade of oil and residues form an excellent material for road- making. Its use in California is an object lesson to every automobilist in that State. In passing judgment upon the condition of the oil industry as a whole, one must not be blinded by the enormous production of gushers, nor be made unduly pessimistic over the low average yield of the quarter of a million wells in the United States. A common sense view seems to be that first, our supply of petroleum from wells is not meeting the country-wide demand and that the limit of production is approaching; second, the supply of petroleum from wells can be maintained 14 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY only by the discovery of new extensive pools; third, there is little likelihood that new pools like the Mid-Continental, or California, will be dis- covered because the entire country has already been explored ; fourth, that the only great national reservoir that can be absolutely depended upon to supply oil is our enormous deposits of shale. This will undoubtedly be the source of our oil supply for the future. In the words of George Otis Smith, Director of the United States Geological Survey, the oil situation in the United States is "pre- CHAPTER II NATUEE. OKIGIN, AND DISTRIBUTION OF OIL SHALE Oil shale virtually contains no oil as sucli. It is a consolidated mud or clay deposit from which petroleum is obtained by distillation. In appearance, the shale is black, or brownish-black, but on weathered surfaces it is white or gray. It is usually fine grained, with some lime and occasionally sand. It is tough but, in thin sections, friable. When broken to a fresh surface it may give an odor like petroleum. Thin rich pieces burn with a sooty flame. E. H. Cun- ningham-Craig defines it as follows : Oil shale is an argillaceous or shaly deposit from which petroleum may be obtained by distillation but not by trituration or treatment by solvents. Oil shale must be carefully distinguished from oil sand. In the oil sand, the oil is contained in the sand as oil. When the sand is penetrated by a well the oil gushes out or is pumped out. In the oil shale there is no oil as such, but only the uncooked in- gredients of oil. When the shale is subjected to destructive distillation, i. e., heated in a closed 15 16 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY vessel, or cooked, shale oil results as a manufac- tured product. Oil shale may also be regarded as an unfinished oil field and is one of k long list of natural de- . . posits which result from the decom- position of organic matter from plants or animals of a former geologic era — ^like anthra- cite, bituminous, and brown coal ; peat, petroleum, and asphaltum. Beds of oil shale were laid down in lakes, lagoons, or wide expanses of quiet water. They contain a large amount of organic matter — low plant forms of life like algae; also pollen, fish scales, insects, and remains of animal and vege- table life sometimes changed beyond recognition, although 277 species of insects have been rec- ognized. Oil shale is found in Colorado, Kentucky, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, Pennsylvania, Nevada,, Mon- tana, West Virginia, and California. DistSion I^ Canada it is found in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and New- foundland. In Scotland, near Edinburgh and on the Isle of Skye. In France, at Autun, Buxiere les Mines and in the Riviera. In South Africa, in the Transvaal, Mozambique, and Natal. Also in New South Wales, New Zealand, Tasmania, Bra- zil, Italy, Spain, Austria-Hungary, Serbia, and Turkey. In England it occurs in Norfolk. The oil shale beds of Scotland occur within a small area, twenty miles in diameter, in the coun- ties of West Lothian, Mid Lothian, and Lanark- DISTRIBUTION OF OIL SHALE 17 shire. The center of the district is fourteen miles west of Edinburgh. The shale beds are simply a very fine impalpable clay shale, brown to black in color, free from silica, easily cut with a sharp knife, and in form are plain or curly. The beds vary greatly in thickness ; it is not uncommon to find a seam pinch out alto- gether, but another seam, above or below it, in- creases in thickness and richness as the first de- teriorates. Faults, folds, and igneous intrusions are not uncommon. Mining is done entirely through shafts. "Kerogen" is the Scotch term given to the complex organic compounds in the shale which produce petroleum. The richer shales yield from 30 to 40 gallons of oil to the ton of shale. The lower grade shale that yields only from 15 to 18 gallons gives from 60 to 70 pounds of ammonium sulphate. That is, the shale that runs high in oil runs low in ammonium sulphate; the shale that is low in oil is high in ammonium sul- phate. In the earlier days of the industry the shales that were worked produced more crude oil than the shales of to-day. Notably the Torbane Hill material gave from 96 to 130 gallons of crude oil a ton. At the present time the production sel- dom exceeds 30 gallons a ton, and shale yielding only 15 gallons is successfully treated. The ex- planation of this lies in the fact that crude oil is not the only product of value that may be obtained. The ammonium sulphate is also valuable. If this is obtained in large quantity, as in the case of 18 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY shale now being treated, the total result in crude oil, plus ammonium sulphate, may be economically profitable. The following series of products are secured from the Scotch shales : 1. Permanent gases used for fuel under retorts. 2. Naphtha, gasoline, and motor spirits. 3. Burning or lamp oil. 4. Intermediate oil used for gas-making. 5. Lubricating oil. 6. Solid paraffin. 7. Still grease. 8. Still coke, which contains some oil and is used for gas, smokeless fuel, and carbon for elec- trical purposes. 9. Ammonium sulphate. 10. Liquid fuel used in the refineries. The Scottish seams of oil shale that have been worked, at various times, have given approxi- mately the results shown in table on page 19. The present output of shale is approximately 3,500,000 tons annually, valued at $15,000,000.00. In the various parts of the industry 12,500 men are now employed. The refineries are now producing from the oil shale approximately : Burning oils 20,000,000 gallons Naphtha 5,000,000 gallons Lubricating oils 22,000,000 gallons Paraffin wax ,. 25,000 tons Sulphate of ammonia 54,000 tons DISTRIBUTION OF OIL SHALE 19 Name Gal. of Crude Oil, Long Tons Ammonium Sulphate lb., Long Tons Torbane Hill Levenseat Raeburn Addiewell (Not much worked) Fells (The principal shale of the West Calder District. Ex- tensively worked) Oakbank Shale — Wee Big Wild Curly Lower Wild New Dunaet (Extensively worked) Barracks Bboxbubn Shale — Broxburn gray Broxburn curly Broxburn seam PtTMPHEHBTON SeAMS — Jubilee Maybrick Curly Plain Wee Mungle (Not much worked) 11 in. 3-6 ft. 20 in. 3-5 ft. 13^ ft. 4 ft. 6 in. 6 ft. 6 ft. 5 ft. 6 in. 8 ft. 6 in. 4r-12 ft. 8 ft. 6 ft. 5 ft. 6 in. 5-6 ft. 8 ft. 5 ft. 6 ft. 7 ft. 4 ft. 2 ft. 96-130 29 40-55 28 26-40 36 22 29)^ 34-41 22 35 19 21 24r-33 14-34 18-22 20-33 34-41 19-33 11-38 10-51 7-40 18 55 16 60 20 52-67 20 60 18 60 35 30 14 13-18 20-35 20 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY D. E. Steuart in "Economic Geology," Vol. 3, 1908, p. 574, describes briefly the equipment as f ol- Description ^°^^ : "In a Scotch oil works there are of the Scotch the great benches of shale retorts Oil Works sometimes more than 60 feet high, with the great stacks of numerous series of 3-inch pipes, 30 to 40 feet high, for air condensers. There is the three-story-high sulphate of ammonia house, with its high column-stills, the acid saturators for the ammonia, vacuum or other evaporator for the sulphate from the recovered sulphuric acid of the refinery, centrifugal driers, storage and grinding mills. In the refining departments the stills are small and, on account of the repeated distillations, very numerous ; the washers for vitriol and soda are many; there are coolers, refrigerators, filter and hydraulic plate presses for the separation ofl the heavy oil and solid paraffin; great sweating houses for the paraffin refining; candle works; sulphuric acid plants; acid recovery plant; engi- neer's, joiner's, and plumber's shops — a very large and varied collection of apparatus covering much ground, so that for a comparatively small production there is a very large and expensive plant. A conspicuous feature of the works is the great hills of spent shale." In 1913 oil shale was discovered on the Isle of Skye. It is fine grained, brown in color, fossilif- erous, tough, and resists disintegra- tion by weathering. At the outcrops it is from seven to ten feet in thickness. Two samples from the outcrops gave : DISTEIBUTION OF OIL SHALE 21 Crude oil gallons a ton Ammonium aulphate, Pounds a ton 1 12 12.8 6.2 2 7.4 England It is not now of commercial importance. The oil shale deposits of England cover an area of one hundred square miles in Norfolk, a few miles from the port of King's Lynn on The Wash. It is entirely con- trolled by the English Oilfields, Ltd., capital $1,- 500,000. Enough test holes have been sunk to determine accurately the depth, character, and ex- tent of the oil shale seams. Holes to a depth of 300 feet show seams of shale aggregating 150 feet. The thinnest is four feet in thickness. The seam which is now being mined at West Winch is 14 feet thick. These deposits, virtually flat, are note- worthy for regularity of strata, thickness of the beds, uniformity of dip, and persistence of oil value. The seams do not vary in dip more than two or three inches in a distance of ten or twenty miles. The whole formation must have been laid down over a wide lake area and the deposition must have been very slow and regular. The limits of the deposit have been accurately de- fined by borings. It is safe to say that the English Oilfields, Ltd. — the controlling company — has title to the entire deposit. Complete equipment is installed for mining and retort- 22 OIL SHALE INDUSTEY ing 1,000 tons of shale a day. A daily production of 45,000 gallons of oil and 70,000 pounds of am- monium sulphate is expected. The retorts are especially designed, after repeated experiments, for the shale to be treated, and are distinctly dif- ferent from the Scotch type. The shale gives from 50 to 60 gallons of shale oil to the ton. A refining plant treats the crude shale oil as it comes directly from the distilling plant, so that the mining, re- torting, and refining are virtually conducted in one general plant. The oil resulting from the Norfolk shale is distinctly different from the Scotch oil. The Norfolk crude is of a light nature, produces a long range of lubricants, 60 to 70 pounds of ammonium sulphate to the ton, and 15 per cent of paraffin wax. The discovery and com- mercial development of this Norfolk oil shale de- posit, in the opinion of English experts, is not only of national importance, but marks an era in the industrial history of England comparable with the discovery and development of her coal de- posits. As far as our present knowledge extends it is evident that Canada is not so well supplied with oil fields as the United States. For this reason the oil shale industry is likely to make rapid advancement within the Dominion. The Geological Survey and the Bu- reau of Mines have already given considerable attention, in examinations and reports, to these DISTEIBUTION OF OIL SHALE 23 deposits, especially to the vast deposits known to exist in the Peace Eiver territory in northern Saskatchewan. The oil shales of New Brunswick are located chiefly in three areas — the Taylorville, Albert Mines, and Baltimore. In Taylorville arefour beds of shale of good quality; ^f^ '""^' one five feet, one three feet, and two, one foot ten inches thick. In Albert Mines are six beds of the following thickness (the most im- portant in New Brunswick) : 6.5 feet, 3.5 feet, 5 feet, 4.5 feet, 6 feet, and one with thin beds of oil shale. In Baltimore are four beds, 4 feet, 5 feet, 7 feet, and 6 feet thick, respectively. The shale beds of Canada — especially in New Bruns- wick — are proving on careful examination to be richer and more extensive than was first supposed and, when fully developed, are likely to be a source of great wealth. They are generally accessible and easily worked. Eesults of analysis of New Brunswick oil shales made by the Mines Branch of the Canadian Geo- logical Survey is shown on page 24. Other shale deposits in New Brunswick are the Prosser Brook, the Pleasant Vale, the Mapleton, the Elgin, Goshen, Sussex, and Norton shales. Thirty-six tons of New Brunswick shale tested at the Pumpherston Oil Co., Scotland, gave an average of 40.09 gallons of crude oil and 76.94 pounds of ammonium sulphate a ton. The New 24 OIL SHALE INDUSTEY Brunswick Shale Co., Ltd., capitalized at $5,000,- 000, has been organized recently to develop the New Brunswick deposits. Crude oil, Imperial gal., a ton Specific gravity of the oil Ammo TiiTim sulphate — Albert Mines — Bed No. 1—6.6 feet thick 48.5 0.892 82.8 BedNo. 2— 3.5 " " 38.8 0.892 60.3 BedNo. 3— 5 " " 45.5 0.891 48. BedNo. 4— 4.5 " " 43.5 0.896 56.8 BedNo. 6— 6 " " 27.0 0.896 49.1 DovEE Shai.es — Average of four samples 27.2 0.921 29.5 Tatlokville Shales — Adams Farm, Taylorville 43.0 0.900 93.0 Taylor " " No. 1 48.0 0.910 98.0 No. 2 37.0 0.925 110.0 Adams " " No. 1 42.3 0.897 96.6 No. 2 47.3 0.901 88.7 Taylor " " No. 1 46.8 0.902 86.0 No. 2 45.0 0.903 101.0 Baltimore Shales — Baizly 54.0 0.895 110.0 E. Stevens 49.0 40.0 0.892 0.895 67.0 Geo. Irving 77 West Branch (gray shale) 56.8 0.891 30.5 Oil shales were first discovered in Pictou Couilty in 1859. They are also found in An- tigonish County. Analysis of Pictou County shale gave two satisfactory results; Nova Scotia DISTEIBUTION OF OIL SHALE 25 Crude oil, Imperial gal., a ton Speoiflo gravity of a ton Anunonimn sulphate — pounds a ton Bed No. 1 42.0 14.5 11.0 10.0 23.0 0.889 0.892 0.917 0.893 0.906 35.0 Bed No. 2. 41 Analysis of Antigonish County shales gave: Bed No. 1 22 6 Bed No. 2 38.0 Bed No. 3 34 The oil bearing shales of Quebec are found in the Gaspe Basin. The outcrops are from 12 to 15 inches in thickness. Samples tested by the Canadian Bureau of Mines re- sulted as follows : Quebec Crude oil, Imperial gal., a ton Specific gravity of the oil Aimnonium sulphate — pounds a ton Bed No. 1 ' 30.0 31.5 36.0 0.962 0.977 0.953 42.20 Bed No. 2 40.00 Bed No. 3 59.50 On account of the thinness of these beds their economic value is doubtful. The oil shales of Newfoundland cover an area of about 750 square miles. The largest deposit lies between the head of White bay Newfound- and Deer and Grand lakes, and varies '^"^ from 50 to 100 feet in thickness. The dip of the strata is slight and the outcroppings are bold. An 26 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY analysis of typical shale gave 50 gallons of crude oil and 80 pounds of ammonium sulphate a ton. The Newfoundland shales have great prospective value. Second only to the oil shale industry in Scotland ranks the French, which dates from 1830. After _ many years of successful operation it suffered from competition with oil wells until the French Government in 1890 offered a premium for the production of oil from shale. This bonus, together with the adoption of efficient Scotch methods of treatment, revived the industry. The shales occur at depths from 150 to 300 feet. Five companies are now in operation on the shale of Autun and Buxiere les Mines, where the shale produces 50 gallons of oil a ton. The best oil shales of France, however, are in southern France in the Eiviera, especially the deposit of the Mines de Boson, five miles north of Frejus, in Var, owned by Mines de I'Estrel. The seam is five feet thick, dips at an angle of 30 to 40 degrees, and yields from 80 to 120 gallons of oil to the ton. The oil is free from sulphur, of .86 gravity, and, when re- fined, gives 18 per cent gasoline and 25 per cent of lubricants. The property is equipped with a re- torting plant and a cracking plant of the Hall (English) type. This is the only French oil shale deposit to be developed in recent years, but the scarcity and high price of coal, as well as the de- mand for petroleum products, makes it probable DISTRIBUTION OF OIL SHALE 27 that other oil shale deposits known to exist in southern France will be developed in the near future. Large outcrops of rich oil shales occur in the gorges of the Blue mountains, New South Wales. Fossils are found in the lower shale measures. These shales are reported to give 100 gallons of oil and 70 pounds of ammo- nium sulphate a ton. The government has estab- lished a system of bonuses, for the production of oil, which are expected to increase the present annual production from 3,000,000 to more than 20,000,000 gallons. There are two British-Aus- tralian companies in the field — the Commonwealth Oil Corporation, capital $6,000,000, operating at Newnes, and the British-Australian Oil Co., capi- tal $1,460,000, operating at Temi in the Liverpool range. From 1865 to 1916, 1,751,367 tons of oil shale have been produced of a total value of $11,606,671. Oil shale is found in two districts — the Ermelo and the Wakkerstroom, fifty miles apart. Although these two deposits may prove to be . Transvaal one continuous bed, there is no evi- dence to that effect at the present time. In each case the shale is associated with a seam of coal. The Ermelo shales have produced from 30 to 34 gallons of crude oil to the ton. The Wakkerstroom shale has yielded as much as 90 gallons a ton, but the shale is only 9 inches thick. 28 OIL SHALE INDUSTEY Oil shales are exposed at many places on the coast of Brazil. They have been examined by Professor John C. Branner, of Leland Stanford, Jr., University, and their composition determined by the late Sir Boverton Eedwood, of London. The richest yielded 44.73 gallons of crude oil and 19.58 gallons of am- moniacal water to the ton. The deposits have not been worked commercially. A Governmental commission has recently re- ported upon the oil shale resources of Sweden and the domestic needs for oils. It is esti- mated that the country's needs are annually : Lamp oils.... 100,000,000 kilos. Lubricating oil 25,000,000 kilos. Petroleum . . . 13,000,000 kilos. Other oils .... 20,000,000 kilos. The oil shale resources are estimated at 5,260,- 000,000 tons, found at KinnekuUe, Narke, Osergot- land, and Oland. From tests made upon the shale oil it is calculated that the following products can be obtained : Fuel oils . .25.5 percent Lubricating oils 34.5 per cent Asphaltum and tar 18.5 per cent Ammonium sulphate. . .7 to 9.5 per cent DISTEIBUTION OF OIL SHALE 29 At the end of Cretaceous and the beginning of Tertiary times, there occurred in the Eocky Moun- tain region earth movements which resulted in a great inland basin or Basin lake, covering a distance of three hun- dred miles north and south and two hundred miles east and west, over what is now northwestern Col- orado, northeastern Utah, and southwestern Wyo- ming. It is a topographic as well as a structural basin, limited by the Uintah mountain uplift on the north, by the Eoan cliffs on the south, by the Wasatch mountains on the west, and by the Eangely dome on the east. The oil shales lie in the Green Eiver formation; they are covered by newer formations in the northern portions, but are well exposed in the south. They can be explored and studied over an area of 40 by 125 miles. This deposit is undoubtedly the most extensive, the richest, and the most accessible in the world. As a reserve for the use of the Navy, the United States Government has withdrawn from this area in Colorado 45,440 acres and in Utah 86,584 acres. In the Utah portion of the Uintah basin alone there are available more than 40,000,000,000 tons of oil shale that will yield more than a barrel of oil to the ton. If 100 plants were to work con- tinuously 365 days in the year, each treating 2,000 tons a day, it would require 550 years to exhaust this supply. In Colorado the oil shale occurs chiefly in Gar- field, Eio Blanco, and Moffat counties, and covers 30 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY 2,500 square miles. The towns of Grand Valley and De Beque, on the line of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, are the points of entrance. The exposed shales of the De Beque district lie northeast, north and north- west of the town, on both banks of Roan creek, on its largest tributaries, Conn, Kimball, and Dry Fork creeks, and on all of its smaller tributaries. Within a radius of 30 miles from De Beque there are 175 miles of continuous outcroppings of ore shale. A measure of the interest and activity in the oil shale industry can be realized from the fact that since June, 1916, there have been more than 1,500 filings on oil shale land in Garfield County. In the Parachute region of the Grand Valley dis- trict is a well defined rich oil shale . stratum — twelve to twenty feet thick — that is exposed on both banks of Parachute creek and all its side streams continuously for a total distance of sixty- nine miles. Many tests show that it will yield an average of at least forty-two gallons, or one barrel of oil, to the ton. Assuming that this stratum ex- tends only a mile and a quarter back from the line of exposure — a conservative estimate — ^the area of this stratum is at least 55,000 acres. This estimate does not include the shale exposed on Battlement Mesa east and southeast of Grand Valley. Using the minimum thickness of twelve feet, allowing 25 per cent of the volume to be left as pillars, and counting only on forty-two gallons to the ton, this stratum alone would contain 1,012,500,000 barrels -jr>; <-■ ^■,.-'-"^ v^ :■-< h^y^ PAPER SHALE. COLORADO DISTRIBUTION OF OIL SHALE 31 of crude oil. To one fond of figuring tlie following will prove interesting. An acre contains 43,560 square feet. A seam of oil shale 10 feet tMck would contain 435,600 square feet. Eighteen cubic feet of shale weigh one ton. Hence there are 24,200 tons of shale in one acre of a seam 10 feet thick. In a square mile there are 640 acres and therefore 15,488,000 tons of shale. There are 2,500 square miles of shale in Colorado, or 38,720,000,- 000 tons. Assume that only one-half is available and there remains 19,360,000,000 tons of available shale. This is figured for one ten-foot seam only. A conservative estimate is 30 feet of workable shale or a total of 58,080,000,000 tons of available shale. A fair average production is a barrel of oil to the ton of shale or 58,080,000,000 barrels of oil available. If 100 plants were in operation, each treating 2,000 tons daily, they would have a daily production of 200,000 barrels. To treat this amount of shale would require 290,400 days or 800 years, approximately. These figures apply only to Colorado; they omit shale deposits else- where, and are given only to make vivid and em- phatic the oft-repeated statement that "there are mountains of oil shale." The most important deposits in Nevada are at Elko, and extend over a belt 30 miles in extent. Two experimental plants are now in operation; the plant of the Southern Pacific Company under the supervision of the United States Bureau of Mines — a Pumpherston 32 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY (Scotch) retort — and the plant of the Catlin Shale Products Company. The shale at the Catlin plant produces fifty gallons of oil to the ton with a paraffin base. At Carlin the oil shale occurs in the form of vertical dikes up to 300 feet in width, and has an asphaltum base. The oil shales of Montana, near Dillon, offer a new problem to the experimenter. They are pe- culiar in that they contain phosphoric acid and the beds are called phos- phoric oil shale. It was hoped that both oil and phosphate could be obtained in profitable quanti- ties, but field work and investigations of the United States Geological Survey have shown that this result is not possible at the present time. In the Dillon region the ore content of the phosphoric oil shale, where the richest shale beds are only three feet, does not exceed 30 gallons to the ton. The phosphate beds also are thin and contain but a small amount of phosphorus pentoxide. In Southwestern Idaho the shale associated with high grade phosphate rock yields little or no oil. It seems, therefore, that at the present time these beds would not be commercially profitable. OHAPTEE III THE HISTORY OF THE OIL SHALE INDUSTRY In the course of his classical investigations on the tar produced in the dry distillation of wood, Eeichenbach, in 1830, discovered in it, among other things, a colorless, wax- tigation"^*^' like solid which he called paraffin because he found it to be endowed with an ex- traordinary indifference towards all reagents. A few years later he isolated from the same material a liquid oil chemically similar to paraflSn, which he I called eupion (very fat). For many years both these bodies were known only as chemical curiosi- ties. This was natural enough as far as paraffin was concerned, but it is rather singular that it took so long before it was realized that eupion, or something very much like it, forms the body of petroleum which had been known, ever since the time of Herodotus at least, to well up abundantly from the earth in certain places. Though exten- sively known, it was used only as an external haedicinal agent, until James Young conceived the idea of working a comparatively scanty oil spring in Derbyshire, and subsequently found that an oil similar to petroleum is obtained by the dry distil- 33 34 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY lation of cannel coal and similar materials at low temperatures. The shale oil industry is not new. It has been successfully developed and operated in Scotland for nearly seventy years. The first ^° ^" material to be subjected to dry distil- lation, which furnished the earliest known distil- lation tar, was described by Boyle in 1661. About this time tar was recovered from the dry distilla- tion of pine in Norway and Sweden. In 1661 a patent was taken out by Becker in England for the recovery of tar and pitch from coal. Becker was also the first to produce coke. The one outstand- ing achievement, however, in the shale oil indus- try is due to James Young. The possibility of extracting oil from bituminous shale had long been known in Scotland, but the small plants which had been erected were of brief existence and of little importance. At the suggestion of Lyon Playfair, Young built a refinery for treating petroleum ob- tained from a spring at Alfreton, in Derbyshire. He produced two kinds of oil, one for lubricating and the other for burning in lamps. ParaflSn was also obtained but not utilized to any extent. Within two years the supply began to fail and in 1851 the business ceased. Meanwhile, it had oc- curred to Young that the oil had been produced by the action of heat upon coal, so he attempted to produce an artificial oil by this means. As a result of a long-continued investigation with many varieties of coal he secured a patent in October, HISTOEY OF OIL SHALE INDUSTRY 35 1850, whicli became the basis of a new industry. "The coals," the patentee says, "which I deem to be best fitted for the purpose are such as are usu- ally called parrot coal, cannel coal, and gas coal, and which are much used in the manufacture of gas for the purpose of illumination." Early in 1850, a material called Boghead coal from Torbane Hill was brought to his attention. This he found to be the most promising of any material he had investigated. In 1850, a plant was erected at Bath- gate. The salient feature of Young's invention was the distillation of bituminous substances at the lowest possible temperature for the production of volatile compounds. In practice it was found that the best results were obtained at about 800 °F. In the early days of the industry in Scotland, Boghead coal or Torbane Hill mineral, as it is sometimes called, was the only material distilled. As the same material was used for the production of illuminating gas, it rose rapidly in price and in 1866 disappeared. When the supply of Boghead coal ceased, another material, well adapted for distillation, was found in the oil shales existing in thesScottish carboniferous formation. Ih 1859, a seam was experimentally opened at Broxburn and by 1864 several plants were in operation. But although the Boghead coal produced 120 to 130 gallons of oil a ton, the shales yielded only about 35 gallons and at the present time produce even less. In 1850, a plant was erected at Bathgate. In 1861, a second, the Crof thead Oil Works, was in 36 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY operation. In 1857, when Young's patent expired, thirty-eight new works were established. In 1860 there were six; in 1870, ninety; in 1880, twenty- six; in 1890, fourteen; in 1900, nine. At the present time four companies are operating: Young's ParaflSn, Light and Mineral Co., Ltd.; the Oakbank Oil Co., Ltd. ; the Broxburn Oil Co., Ltd., and the Pumpherston Oil Co., Ltd. There are three other companies which produce only oil and ammonium sulphate. At the beginning of the industry in Scotland, horizontal retorts were used, but were soon sup- planted by the vertical type. In form the hori- zontal retorts were of oval, or rectangular, shape made of cast iron; at one end was a door and at the other a pipe for the removal of vapor to the condenser plant. The material was charged and discharged through the door, so that the operation of the retort was intermittent. To secure a con- tinuously working retort, the vertical type was introduced. These were narrow, oval, or circu- lar cast iron pipes, surrounded by brickwork. They were charged from a hopper at the top and dis- charged at the bottom through a trough filled with water which acted as a seal. The vapors escaped through the pipe on the side of the retort near the top. Coal was used as fuel. These retorts had the advantage over the horizontal retorts of con- tinuous working and a greater yield of oil. Their life was, however, short — six to nine months — ^on account of corrosion. In these early retorts, de- HISTOEY OF OIL SHALE INDUSTEY 37 composition was effected at the expense of the paraflSn content with the result of an oil low in paraffin. To produce an oil which would be rich in paraffin, Young conducted exhaustive experi- ments which resulted, in the late sixties, in a retort of increased diameter. In this type the retort was jacketed and the vapors were taken off at the bottom. To effect a more economical working and to obtain a lower distillation temperature, Young later began to use the spent shale instead' of coal as a source of heat. A retort was devised by which he proved that the spent shale could furnish enough heat for distillation, but it was too delicate for operation by workmen with hun- dreds of retorts to look after. In 1873, a retort was constructed by N. M. Henderson. A set of these retorts was installed in the Oakbank works in 1874 and did good work for twelve years, when they were replaced by an improved type. They were also used at Broxburn and contributed greatly to the success of the Broxburn Oil Co. The retorts of Young and Henderson, in which shale was burnt, were able to work at a lower distillation temperature and the oil produced was of better quality and richer in paraffin. The work- ing costs were also reduced considerably. Until 1880, the yield of oil was thought to be the most important feature in the process of distillation, and the recovery of ammonia a' side issue. At this time Young and Beilby began to investigate the possibility of increasing the yield of ammonia. 38 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY A retort was constructed with an upper section of cast iron in which the shale was acted upon by a gentle heat for the production of oil, and a lower section of fire brick where the temperature was higher and where steam was introduced. From this retort an excellent oil was produced and the yield of ammonia and gas was increased. The disadvantages were that it required very close attention and its liability to choke if the tempera- tures became so high as to fuse the charge in the lower portion. To avoid these difficulties, Young constructed a retort known as the Pentland; the diameter was increased, the upper section con- structed of iron, and the lower of fire brick. The joint between the two was very carefully made. The retort was 27.5 feet high. The temperature in the upper zone was maintained at about 750 °F. (400°C.) and in the lower zone, 1300°F. (700°C.). The shale was kept in continuous motion by a toothed roller at the bottom of the retort. This prevented caking and the obstruction of the retort. The roller also discharged the spent shale into an iron box from which it was run into cars. The retort was easy to operate and required little attention. Fresh shale entered the retort in pro- portion as spent shale was discharged. The yield of ammonia was greater than that from other re- torts and the oil was of a good grade. The earliest record of oil shale investigation in America is that of Dr. Abram Gasner, who, in 1815, erected a small retort at Baltimore, New "g rel of shale oil (42 gallons) to the ton of shale in a plant treating 400 tons a day. COST PEE TON Mining $1.25 Breaking 10 Eetorting 35 Eefining by the Wells Process. ... .42 Piping, loading and shipping 10 Amortization of plant equipment. . .05 Interest on investment , .05 Overhead expenses 25 $2.57 The cost of a distillation plant, with all acces- sories, of a capacity of 100 tons of shale a day is estimated at from $65,000 to $100,000, according to local conditions. If proper plans were made in advance for enlargement, additional Estimated units could be erected at about one- Cost of half the cost of the original unit. The and Refin- cost of a Wells refining plant with a '"s Plants daily capacity of 400 barrels, to include a sulphate 3f ammonium and gasoline absorption plant, would cost from $300,000 to $350,000, according to local conditions. All estimates of plant equipment and 124 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY operation should be regarded as distinctly tentative. The first investigators of oil shale deposits, ten years ago, were well satisfied that the shale could be made to produce oil in large quantity and that the deposits of shale were of enormous extent. With well production ample to supply all demands, Pennsylvania crude selling around $1.35 a barrel, and Mid-Continent crude around forty cents a barrel, they were justified in their conclusion that there was no justification for an oil shale industry. However, since that time the demand has in- creased, the supply has not kept pace, the price of crude has mounted to a price above the cost of producing shale oil and the entire economic condi- tions have changed. Consequently, the time has come for oil to be produced from shale on a com- mercial basis and at a profit. Crude shale oil, when produced, will naturally first come into competition with the Wyoming and Mid-Continental oils. Since the estimate of $1.85 is conservatively high, the lowest competitive price, $2.50 (in the Wyoming field), WeU oa""^ and the highest price, $3.50 (in the Mid-Continental field), are both well above the danger line. If, then, oil shale retorting plants were now in effective operation on a com- mercial scale there is little doubt that their prod- uct would find a ready market at a remunerative price. There is, too, every reason to believe that the price of oil has only begun its upward course ECONOMIC FACTORS 125 and much higher prices will soon be reached. Nor will the price of crude oil alone remain high. On account of the present large foreign demand, in addition to the strong domestic demand, the prices of lubricating oils and kerosene will very likely first be affected by the advance in crude oil. The shortage in the supply of gasoline is an additional factor which will help to advance the price also. Other refinery products are also due for an ad- vance. All of which will aid materially in placing the oil shale industry on a profitable basis. The recent coal strike has brought home to the large consumers of coal the danger of depending solely upon coal for fuel. Already many of the large New York and New England manufacturing plants as well as larger office buildings are chang- ing to oil. Many ocean steamships, as well as those on the Great Lakes, are also changing. In Chicago all the public school buildings, in units of ten at a time, are being changed to use oil for fuel. On railroads fuel oil is fast coming into favor on account of the low labor cost, the conveniences, and the high efficiency. The following railroads now use fuel oil over all or a considerable part of their lines : Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, South- em Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Western Pacific, Northwestern & Pacific, Florida East Coast, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, Great'; Northern, Oregon Short Line, Texas & Pacific, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, Chicago & North- western, El Paso Southwestern, Delaware & Hud- 126 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY son (Adirondack Division), New York Central (Adirondack Division), Oregon-Washington Navi- gation Co., Texas Eailways, Missouri, Kansas & Texas. As early as January, 1918, "Petroleum" said editorially, "California crude stock is the lowest Economic ^^ years. Eeduction of crude oil stocks Conditions, in California to slightly less than Jan.. 1918 34^000,000 barrels, the smallest in more than six and one-half years, emphasizes the strength of the oil situation on the Pacific Coast. Several million barrels are regarded as unavail- able for use, so actual surplus is smaller than appears. Consumption of crude oil by Pacific Coast refineries has been exceeding production at the rate of about 1,000,000 barrels a month the last year or so. In twenty-two months California stocks of oil in storage and above ground have been depleted by over 23,000,000 barrels." Senator Phelan in the Congressional Record of July 29, 1919, said: "The Director of the Bureau of Mines would like to emphasize the fact that there is no other situation in respect to future sup- plies of essential raw materials for the United States and in respect to our future trade, which is at the present time so important and so critical as the petroleum situation. In so far as America is concerned, the whole complexion of our petroleum industry has changed within the last two years. We are now consuming more crude oil than we produce, depending upon imports to make up the ECONOMIC FACTOES 127 deficit. Forty per cent of our natural petroleum reserves lias been taken out of the ground and used, whereas we have used up about one per cent of our coal. Our nationals have not gone abroad to any extent. American oil producing companies are to be found only in Mexico, Central and South America, and Eoumariia. The United States pro- duces yearly 65 to 70 per cent of the world's total production. The increase of our consumption of crude oil in 1918 over the consumption in 1911 was 190,000,000 barrels. We are eating up our sub- stance. In view of the extensive use of fuel oil in the industries, merchant marine, and navy, lubri- cating oils and gasoline, it seems certain that our consumption of crude oil will continue to increase at a rate comparable with that of the past. Our consumption in 1918 was 406,916,000 barrels or 61,920,000 more than our domestic production. The attractive oil producing regions of the world have been closed to the entry of America. All of these areas with the exception of Mexico and parts of Central and South America lie within British and French possessions or spheres of influence. British and British Dutch nationals practically control all the world's petroleum industry that is not controlled by our own companies. Great Britain and British nationals are alive to the fact that production scattered all over the world will be the dominating factor from now on and it is their plan to secure concessions or other rights covering these probable and possible oil producing 128 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY areas. Unless Americans are encouraged to go abroad, future oil production will all be in the hands of British nationals within the next very few years. No greater or more lasting and far reaching service can be rendered to this country at the present time than securing for American citi- zens their rightful participation in the develop- ment of all the world's resources of petroleum." It should be borne in mind that the oil shale industry is not a "poor man's game" in the sense that a small amount of capital invested will quickly bring fabulous returns. On the contrary, it is distinctly a "rich man's game, ' ' in the sense that a large amount of capital must be invested before there is any return what- ever. The smallest unit — and that only as a starter — should be of 100 tons daily capacity to cost approximately $100,000. This unit should be added to, till at least 500 tons a day are reached and 1,000 would be much preferable. Another phase that should be emphasized is that the oil shale industry is a low-grade industry, of large tonnage, of continuous operation, with automatic machinery, and large output. Workmen need only to be "broad in the back." The brains must be supplied in the office. The greatest need of the industry at the present moment is capital to open the deposits, erect retorts, establish refineries, organize distributing agencies, and, in brief, to establish the industry on a commercial scale and a paying basis. The small investor should use the ECONOMIC FACTORS 129 utmost caution before investing in the stock of newly organized oil shale companies. The funda- mental facts about the industry are so stupendous and are so officially put forth that the dishonest promoter can easily excite the cupidity of the unthinking investor. The investor should investi- gate carefully the standing of the officials and fully realize that he is engaging in a long pull project and that no returns are possible until the plant is completed in every respect and operating steadily. Underfinancing is also a danger that must be faced, e. g., if a company needs $100,000, can secure only $50,000, and has a plant only half com- pleted, the entire investment may be lost. CHAPTEE VIII SUMMARY The oil shale industry has reached its greatest development in Scotland, where it was established in 1850. Next in importance comes France and then New South "Wales. In Scotland the technical and chemi- Fe^tures"* ^^^ problems of the industry have been carefully solved and, on the whole, the industry has been commercially profitable. The Scotch shale beds are comparatively thin, irregular, steeply inclined, deep, and expensive to work. The oil content of the Scotch shales is now much less than formerly and the shale could not be worked profitably if it were not for the ammonium sulphate produced. The increased demand for petroleum, the exhaustion of producing wells in the near future, and the enhanced price will result in competitive shale oil which will be produced from an inexhaus- tible supply of shale by cheap mining and efficient retorting. The oil shale industry is not, in ordinary par- lance, "a poor man's game." The technical and 130 SUMMARY 131 chemical problems are numerous and require a high grade of scientific ability for their solution. A plant of 1,000 tons daily capacity is as small as can be operated permanently and successfully, as the profits will depend chiefly on the large ton- nage handled. In this respect, the oil shale in- dustry bears the same relation to the oil that Utah Copper and the other copper porphyries bear to copper. An investment of $500,000 is as small as can be safely counted upon to make a single project suc- cessful. Labor is cheaper in Scotland than in the United States ; the Scotch shale produces more ammonium sulphate than the Colorado shale. These are the only factors favorable to the Scotch shale; all other elements that enter are distinctly in favor of American shale. Oil shale land is primarily acquired from the government under the Federal mining laws governing placer mining claims. At the present time, however, all shale land advantageously situated has been filed on or is owned by indi- viduals or corporations. Oil shale itself varies in different locahties and in different strata in the same locality. The oil shale industry is a comprehensive one and embraces features of mining, shale reduction, mechanical engineering, oil refining, applied chemistry, and the business involved in marketing the products. 132 OIL SHALE INDUSTEY Little manual labor is required, as automatic machinery does the bulk of the work. Variation in the estimated cost of producing crude shale oil is caused by the exclusion or in- clusion, in the estimate, of the by-products. Another cause of difference is the high or low estimate of the amount of shale oil that can be extracted from each ton of shale. Inasmuch as there is known to exist in the De Beque-Parachute district a large commercial supply of shale that will produce a barrel of crude oil — 42 gallons — to the ton of shale and such shale deposits have the economic advantages of altitude, nearness to water, accessibility, and proximity to transporta- tion, one is on a safe, conservative basis to esti- mate a barrel of oil to the ton of shale. The amount of shale of this grade now available wUl last for many years. The early success of the industry will depend upon the cost of production and marketability of its main products — ^not upon its by-products — ^no matter how fascinating these by-products now appear. Black powder will probably be more efficient in mining shale than dynamite. Some shales contain sulphur and hence produce an inferior grade of oil, but Nevada, Colorado, and Utah shales are generally free from sulphur, or carry very little, and produce a high grade of crude oil easily amenable to refining. Gasoline from Colorado oil shale does not be- SUMMAEY 133 come dark, off-color, or otherwise deteriorated by standing. Samples refined by the Wells process are known to have kept their color for more than a year. Crude shale oil is a manufactured oil and con- sequently can be kept virtually free from impuri- ties. Tests thus far made indicate that the great majority of shale oils produced, when made under proper conditions, are of a quality greatly superior to the oil produced by wells. The quality of oils produced from wells varies greatly. Im- purities that prove injurious to the quality of the oil are present, to a greater or less extent, in almost all well oils. The majority of shales do not contain impurities to such a degree as to affect the quality of the oil produced. Kerogen is the oil producing matter in the shale. The oil produced from 4.44 tons of shale (42 gallons to the ton) is equivalent to the heat effect of one ton of coal of 11,000 B.t.u. calorific value. The heat value of 2.41 tons of oil shale (42 gal- lons of oil to the ton) is equivalent to the heat value of one ton of coal of 11,000 B.t.u. calorific value. Colorado massive shale will average 18 cubic feet to the ton ; when broken, 30 cubic feet to the ton in volume. A ton of shale (42 gallons) will produce an average of 2,500 cubic feet of gas. A 400-ton plant would therefore produce daily 800,000 cubic feet of gas. Ninety-four pounds of coal are equivalent 134 OIL SHALE INDUSTEY to 1,000 cubic feet of gas. Consequently the 800,- 000 cubic feet of gas produced daily by a 400-ton distillation plant would be equivalent to 74,200 pounds of coal, or 37.6 tons. The minimum capacity of a distillation or retort- ing plant to include crushing, retorting, gasoline absorption, and ammonium sulphate units, should be 100 tons daily. The cost of such a plant would be approximately $100,000. Additional 100-ton units could be installed for $50,000 each. These estimates are made for retorts which have a capacity of 1.5 tons to the charge. From five to six charges can be made daily, resulting in a daily capacity of from 7.5 to 9 tons a day. A bank of 16 retorts is roughly assumed to be of 100 tons daily capacity. A 100-ton plant should be regarded as only a starter. A thousand tons should be re- garded as a minimum conmaercial size. The minimum size for a refinery, to include a paraffin wax plant should be 400 barrels daily, and would cost approximately $350,000. This also should be regarded as only a starter. A refinery of 1,000 barrels daily capacity should be regarded as the minimum capacity for continuous commer- cial operations. One refinery in the De Beque- Parachute district, for example, would fill the needs of several distillation plants. At Tulsa, Oklahoma, the cost of refining is 38 cents a barrel in the Cosden and Company plant of 40,000 gallons daily capacity. In a two months' SUMMAEY 135 test run by tlie Wells process at this plant the cost was 27 cents a barrel. A plot of ground 200 by 300 feet is sufficient for a distillation plant of 400 tons daily capacity. Only about 60 per cent of the gas ordinarily produced would be needed to supply power for the distillation and refinery plants. The remainder, 40 per cent, would be available for other purposes. Ore is crushed, but shale should be broken. This is accomplished in Scotland by the use of spiked rolls. Spikes 2.5 inches at the base and 3 inches long are arranged spirally in rolls and are re- movable. In Scotland all shale smaller than one inch is left in the mine. American shale breaks well. Sticking of shale in the retort, in some cases, causes serious trouble. Tests show that if the temperature is kept below 850° sticking does not occur in Colorado shale, but they do stick if the temperature goes above that point. Samples of Nevada and Utah shales have been tried that do not stick up to 1200°. Mixtures of Nevada and Colorado shale seemingly do not stick. In Para- chute creek the black, rich streak sticks at 850°, but if mixed with poorer shale, (35 to 40 gallons to the ton) in the proportion of 100 pounds of the poorer to 400 pounds of the richer, the product does not stick below 1,000°. However, sticking is prevented by the introduction of steam, provided the steam is injected early enough in the process. Crude petroleum from wells varies widely in 136 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY different fields. Crude shale oil is virtually a manufactured article. It may be spoiled, in the manufacture, for refining into valuable products. Also, good shale oil may be subjected to an ineffi- cient method of refining and become commercially unprofitable. In Scotland' two men working together produce 8 tons (2,240 lb.) a day at a cost of 5 shillings, or $1.25 a ton. Eeduced to a ton of 2,000 lb. this would be $1.11 a ton. The Scotch miner works on a seam only 6 or 7 feet thick, hundreds of feet below the surface under unfavorable conditions. If the Scotch miner, under unfavorable conditions, can mine four tons of shale, certainly the Ameri- can miner in our shale beds so easily worked can produce twice that amount. It is certain, then, that our estimate of $1.25 a ton for mining is large enough, and in practice will surely be reduced. The quantity and quality of oil that can be pro- duced is variable, according to the skill and intelli- gence of the operator, the method used, the tjrpe of retort, the rate of heating, the amount of heat applied, the introduction of steam, and many other details. In short, oil produced from shale may or may not show good results, from no fault of the shale. Good shale, subjected to poor methods, may give oil that fails to yield to refining. Hence follow conflicting opinions as to the character of the shale oil produced and the results from refin- ing. Retorting shale and refining oil are not fool proof processes. SUMMAEY 137 A frequent distinction is made between Ameri- can and Scottish shale, as if there were only two varieties — one American and one Scotch. It should be clearly understood that there is a great variety of American shales — as great a diif erence between them as between any one of them and the Scotch shale. Hence varieties of American shale may require different forms of treatment. In Colorado alone the available oil from shale is conservatively estimated at 58,080,000,000 bar- rels. To produce this would require the work of 100 plants each producing 2,000 barrels daily for 800 years. In Utah the supply is sufficient to last 550 years. The value and extent of oil shale deposits can be accurately determined by diamond drilling. A satisfactory retort for American shales is the crux of the oil shale industry. One ten-foot seam of oil shale which yields a barrel of oil to the ton will produce seven times as much oil to the square mile as the average produc- tion from proven well-oil ground. The United States produces two-thirds of the world's output of oil, but this is insufficient for her needs. The chief elements of a complete oil shale plant are: a. Mining equipment b. Breaking machinery c. Eetorts d. Condensers 138 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY e. Eefining and cracking plant f . "Wax plant g. Sulphuric acid plant h. Storage and transportation facilities In general the favorable features of the oil shale industry are: a. The enormous extent of the deposits b. The great thickness both of the medium and high grade shale 0. The horizontal position of the strata and their height above the level of the creeks — a combination that af- fords cheap mining d. Adequate water supply for the con- densing and cooling systems both for the distilling and refining plants e. Accessibility and nearness to railroads and markets f . ' The great richness of the shale These features combine to make the oil shale deposits of the United States the most valuable deposits of their kind in the world. In the minds of those men who are best informed on the technical and business phases of the oil shale industry, it has passed the experimental stage and "has arrived." CHAPTEE IX OPINIONS "All the statistics available to me dealing with oil production and crude oil consumption, the de- cline of the present proven oil territory, and the possibilities for new oil wells, lead to the conclusion that it is only a matter of a few years van H. under existing conditions until there Manning, Di- must be developed other sources of Bureau of hydrocarbon oils than the oil wells ter"fo'the^ " themselves. These sources are limited Author to high volatile coals, cannel coal, lignites, and oil shales. Of these possibilities the oil shales offer by far the greatest promise because, in the first place, there are tremendous deposits of these shales which are easily accessible, and, in the second place, because the shales will yield large volumes of oil when destructively distilled. "In the development of any large industry, such as the oil shale industry gives every indication of becoming, there is always a considerable interval between the inception of the industry and the time when it becomes a strong commercial factor. These considerations lead me to believe that shale oil 139 140 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY developments should be undertaken at once and that the expenditure of money in material in oil shale plants will in no wise be an unpatriotic ven- ture. It is high time that some one did the pio- neering in this industry and to the pioneer in any such enterprise always belongs a great deal of credit. I assure you that this Bureau wishes to encourage in every way feasible the undertaking and legitimate development of the oU shale in- dustry. "I think you will agree with me that the oU shale industry is essentially a low grade manufacturing proposition involving the investment of a large amount of capital and skillful engineering, as well as technical ability, in the erection and operation of shale plants. I believe that the large oil shale operator with a staff of technical experts will be able to operate at a profit under the present market conditions and prices of labor, material and products obtainable from oil shale, but I am even more certain that the small operator will be almost certain to meet with a failure. I trust that you will take every opportunity to impress these facts upon the people of Colorado who are con- templating investing in or engaging in the oil shale industry." "The question is being asked daily what the country is going to do when our petroleum re- sources are exhausted. We have as yet un- touched our great reserves of shale that contain oil. These shales are found in many parts of the OPINIONS 141 United States, and tremendous reserves are known in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Some of our shales are much richer than van H. the Scotch shales, and are conserva- Manning, ' . Director, tively estimated to contain many united times the amount of oil that has been, feau^of^"" or will have been, produced from all Mines, Bu- the porous formations in this coun- Mines Year- try, book, 1917 "To obtain the oil from oil shale it is necessary to heat the shale in great retorts. The oil is the result of destructive distillation and is driven off in the form of vapor and is later condensed by cooling. As stated above, this process has never been used in this country because of the lack of necessity, for our oil reserves are great, and it would not be commercially economical to invest money in retorts for distilling oil from shale that would have to compete with the crude oil obtained by other methods. But this condition will not last forever. In fact, it is thought that it will be only a very short time until the oil shale industry will be one of magnitude." * ' During the year the Bureau of Mines has been particularly interested in the vast deposits of oil shales in Colorado and Utah that have been dis- closed by the field investigations of the Geological Survey. Because of the threatened shortage of petroleum from oil fields in the future, these shales are considered to be the principal reserve of this country for the future supply of gasoline 142 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY and otller petroleum products. Consequently, much attention has been given to preliminary in- vestigations of the richness of the shales, and a "investiga- detailed study is being made of the tion of Oil best methods of obtaining oil from enth Annual" the shales, the character of the shale Report of QJig and the proportions of the vari- of Mines, ous oil products and by-products ob- ManiSig, Di- tainable by different methods of dis- rector, to tiUation. The investigations made of the Inter- lead to the belief that it is now com- FU'calVwr ^^^cially feasible to work selected Ended June deposits of shale in competition with 30, 1917 Q-^i from oil wells, and that these oil shale reserves can be considered of immediate importance to the oil industry. Several commer- cial plants for mining and treating the shale have been planned and the Bureau of Mines will closely follow the developments. It is believed these investigations have already demonstrated a re- serve of oil adequate for all future needs of the Navy. ' ' Mr. Lane said, in reply to a Senate resolution regarding gasoline, and referring to the shale beds of the country: "The develop- Franklin K. , „ , i . ■; Lane, Sec- ment 01 this enormous reserve supply retary of the simply awaits the time when the price of gasoline or the demand for other distillation products warrants the utilization of this substitute source. This may happen in the future. At all events these shales are likely to OPINIONS 143 be drawn upon long before the exhaustion of the petroleum fields." "It is true that the Government, and particu- larly the Geological Survey, has spent consider- able time and money in the last few George Otis years in a study of the oil shale Smith, Direc- deposits. As a result of the field Geological examinations made from 1913 to 1916, Le^eT to" ^ it has been clearly demonstrated Congressman that the latent potentiality of the oil September '^' shale of this region as a source of 8» ^917 petroleum is enormous. It is also known that there is locked up in these shales a vast amount of nitrogen which can be recovered as a by- product in the refining of the shale and used in the manufacture of fertilizers and explosives. ' ' "The day that some company undertaking the production of oil through the distillation of oil shales in this country proves, through Extract from actual practice, that oil may be pro- Letter from duced successfully and continuously Smith, on a commercial scale at its plant, a united°States new page will be turned in the Indus- Geological trial history of the United States. Decem'ber The significance of the first genuine ^9, 1918 production at a profit is hardly likely to be over- estimated. Such a demonstration will tend to limit maximum petroleum prices in competing areas and to reassure the American Eepublic as to its oil supplies. "These circumstances justify the interest dis- 144 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY played, by the public as well as the companies that are honestly undertaking the task of designing and constructing plants while the industry is yet in its experimental and, therefore, uncertain stages. As soon as the oil is produced successfully on a commercial scale, the industry is destined to expand rapidly, unless interfered with by the dis- covery of an important oil field between the Rockies and the Sierra-Nevada-Cascade Range barrier. Its normal expansion, however, will probably not be so rapid as to affect petroleum prices especially. "Although the conditions of shale mining in northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah are in general widely different from those in Scotland and France and to a certain extent from those in Australia, and though the composition of the Green River oil shales undoubtedly differs some- what from the Old World deposits, much should be gained by the utilization of the experience and methods of those who have long been engaged in the industry with financial success. In the attack, on the technological questions of oil extraction, the United States Bureau of Mines is extending constructive co-operation as well as cordial inter- est. "Notwithstanding the work done over sixty years ago in the distillation of shales and coal, the proposition of producing oil on a large scale by shale distillation is in fact essentially new in this country. The problem is bound to attract OPINIONS 145 more attention as the demand for petroleum con- tinues to gain on the supply from wells in the United States. "The generously encouraging attitude of the Federal Government and of the States toward the establishment of new industries, and especially toward the development of mineral deposits, makes possible the perpetration of numerous frauds under guise of oil-shale promotion. It is the duty of officers like yourself, who are on the ground and who are in a position to gather knowl- edge enabling you to discriminate between the fraudulent promoter, on the one hand, and the honest experimenter and developer, on the other, to expose the frauds and put in motion the machinery which, under State and Federal laws is, in many cases at least, sufficient to put an end to such business. On the other hand, it is as im- portant that honest, well-organized companies, with promising plans and methods, should be helped by all wise and legitimate means. ' ' "The position of the United States in regard to oil can be characterized as precarious. Using more than one-third of a billion barrels a year, we are drawing not only from the underground pools, but also from storage, and both of these supplies are limited. In 1918, the contribution direct from our wells was 356,000,000 bbl., or more than one-twentieth of the amount estimated by the Survey geologists as the content of our underground reserve ; we also drew from storage 146 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY 24,000,000 bbl., or nearly one-fifth of what re- George Otis mains above ground. Even if there Smith ijg j^Q further increase in output due United States to increased demand, is not this a Su^ef!"^ pace that will kill the industry? Even Paper before though we glory in the fact that we instftutel)?" contributed eighty per cent of the Mining and great quantity needed to meet the re- Engineere,*^ quirements of the Allies during the January, 1920 -^ar, is not our world leadership more spectacular than safe? and even though the United States may to-day be the largest oil pro- ducer and though it consumes nearly 75 per cent of the world's output of oil, it is not a minute too early to take counsel with ourselves and call the attention of the American geologists, engineers, capitalists, and legislators to the need of an oil supply for the future." "The investigation, with mapping, of the oil shale in the West, begun by the Geological Survey in 1913, largely as a measure of preparedness, has yielded a volume of information as to the distribu- tion, richness, character, composition, and possi- bilities of these shales, which is now proving in- valuable in the foundation of a new industry that is sooner or later to be of very great economic importance to the country. The many experi- mental plants now in operation or under construc- tion for producing oil from these shales for com- mercial use should soon demonstrate whether, as was expected, the moment has already arrived OPINIONS 147 ■when the production of shale oil will not only regulate the price of gasoline, but will assure an almost unlimited supply of that essential fuel. Conservative estimates of the quan- tity of crude oil that may be recovered gation with ' from beds of shale three feet or more Mapping of the Deposits m thickness and capable of yielding of Oil Shale twenty-five gallons or more of oil to Thkty^intk the ton of shale (some beds will yield Annual Re- as high as seventy gallons) indicate Director o*f that the shales of northwestern Colo- s1''j^"q^'' rado and northeastern Utah alone can logical Sur- produce over ten times as much oil as ^^^ Smith* has been recovered from oil wells in Director, to ■ the United States since the first com- of^he mercial oil well was drilled in Penn- Jh^^FTscal""^ sylvania in 1859. What the full possi- Year Ended bilities of these shales may be in the ^""^ ^o. 1918 way of by-products other than gasoline remains to be seen. It is not impossible that new products or preparations yet to be discovered in the experimental laboratory may be of signal importance to the country and may radically affect the commercial success of the industry. The tests already made indicate that the shales will furnish material for dyes, fertilizers, rubber sub- stitutes, paving material, drugs and lubricants. ' ' "Granted the utmost in the development and use of the remaining supply of petroleum, eco- nomic pressure from oil shortage will still be not far distant. Attention turns, therefore, to sources 148 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY ment of Oil Shales"— "Petroleum, a Resource Interpreta- tion," by Chester G. Gilbert and Joseph E. Pogue, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin 102, Part 6, 1918. of supply other than the porous rocks of oil fields thus far exclusively exploited in this country. It is of great significance, therefore, that within the Develop-^ past five years geological explora- tions on the part of the United States Geological Survey have definitely es- tablished the existence of vast areas of black shale in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, much of it capable of yield- ing upon distillation around fifty gallons of oil, 3,000 oubics of gas, and seventeen pounds of ammonium sul- phate — the whole constituting an oil reserve aggregating many times the original supply of petroleum." "These shale areas will be developed in time on as safe and sane a basis as our coal mines of "The Oil to-day. When that time arrives, the D^^se^"^'^^'" ^'^mains of oil prospecting will have Hager, "The fled and the whole complexion of oil New'^Oi*i°' production will change. It will, lit- erally, be oil mining with steam shovels in open pits and glory holes ; and, later, tunnels and adits. There will be no lack of oil products for several generations to come, but the true oil fields of to-day will probably disappear within another generation and be re- placed by oil mines." "Is the United States facing a gasoline famine? Fields in the United States," Engineering and Mining Journal, New York City, Jan- uary 5, 1919. OPINIONS 149 Shall we be required to forego automobiling ex- cept to meet the stern necessities of war and of utilitarian traffic? Are our petroleum fields show- ing signs of exhaustion? ' ' The output of petroleum has not «Biiiio„s ^t yet begun to diminish ; statistics show Barrels of Oil that it is still increasing; yet the in°Rockiesl" downward trend of production from ^^jj^^ the present oil fields is plainly in Mitchell, • r,j. of the S'igaX. United States "The war has made a sudden and Geological enormously increasing demand on the the National oil fields of America, and though the S?°S'^^P^''= industry has never been so feverishly for Febru- active as it is now and the output ^'^^' ^^^^" never so large, the truth is that the demand has not been entirely met. And the demand will be ever increasing, ever pressing. "Many of the host of larger vessels that we are now building will be equipped with oil-burning furnaces, and the vast swarm of airplanes that we are building, as well as the thousands of automo- biles and trucks that we are turning out, will consume an enormous quantity of gasoline. Yet no great new oil regions comparable with the Mid- Continent or California fields are being discov- ered, and it is questionable whether any will be, for our oil geologists have pretty thoroughly combed the accessible oil areas. What then, is the answer ? "It is just at this juncture that we have made a discovery that has disclosed what is undoubtedly 150 OIL SHALE 'INDUSTEy one of our greatest mineral resources — one that should supply the needs of the war, and that for generations to come will enable the United States to ma^tain its supremacy over the rest of the world as a producer of crude oil and gasoline and incidentally of ammonia as a highly valuable by- product. We have discovered that we possess mountain ranges of rock that will yield billions of barrels of oil. "For many years travelers going west through the Grand Eiver valley of Colorado and into the great Uintah basin of eastern Utah have looked from the windows of their Pullman cars on the far-stretching miles and miles of the Book Cliff mountains, little realizing that in these and adjoining mountains, plainly exposed to view, lay the greatest oil reservoir of the country — the oil shales of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Nevada. "These shales, it is true, were known to yield oil. Campers and hunters in building fires against pieces of the rock had been surprised to find that they ignited and burned, and investigation showed that they contained oil. This fact was looked upon, however, as only another of the natural curiosities of the great West and little or no atten- tion was paid to it because of the seemingly inexhaustible pools of crude petroleum found elsewhere under great areas. "In connection with its investigations of the undeveloped mineral resources of the country the United States Geological Survey has recently OPINIONS 151 made special studies and tests of these oil rocks and has brought to light two important facts: first, that our Western shales are phenomenally rich in oil, and second, that in foreign countries, particularly Scotland, much inferior shales are to-day successfully mined and worked as a source of oil and other commercial products. The indus- try in Scotland is seventy years old and is still in a highly flourishing condition. ' ' "In Colorado alone there is sufficient shale, in beds that are three feet or more thick, and capable of yielding more oil than the average shale now mined in Scotland, to yield Winchester, about 20,000,000,000 barrels of crude U- j^-gpl";' oil, from which 2,000,000,000 barrels vey.BuUetiii of gasoline may be extracted by p^age'141. ordinary methods of refining, and in Utah there is probably an equal amount of shale just as rich. The same shale in Colorado, in addi- tion to the oil, should produce, with but little added cost, about 300,000,000 tons of ammonium sulphate, a compoujid especially valuable as a fer- tilizer. The industry requires a large equipment of retorts, condensers, and oil refineries, as well as of mining machinery, so that it cannot be profitably handled on a small scale. ' ' "During the last year, the United States has produced a little over 1,000,000 barrels a day of crude petroleum, a total of 376,000,000 barrels, according to the government's preliminary fig- ures. In addition to this, there has been imported 152 OIL SHALE INDUSTEY from Mexico, about 60,000,000 barrels. The petro- leum industry in this country, therefore, used during the last year a total of approximately 436,000,000 barrels. Apply 8.54 per cent of in- . crease, and one has 37,235,000 barrels Walter Clark additional required during the pres- ttT^lt^' dard ^^^ year in order to meet the increased Oil Co. of demand, based on the actual figures ew Jersey ^£ ^^^^ experience. If this percentage of increase continues — and there is no reason to doubt that it will — then five years from now (in 1925), the petroleum industry in this country will need approximately 670,000,000 barrels, or an in- crease of 225,000,000 barrels as compared with 1919. These figures give rise to a natural query as to where this enormous quantity of crude oil is to come from. "What is the Standard Oil doing toward in- creased production? The producing departmen,t is planning a most active campaign of exploring and development outside of the United States. The policy of the company at present is to be interested in every producing area in the world, provided of course that interests can be secured on a basis that would seem to hold out the possi- bilities of success, and where the lives and prop- erties of American citizens will be respected. We are now operating in Eoumania and investigating prospective oil producing properties in Russia, Galicia, and elsewhere in Europe. At this mo- ment, we have a party of practical oil men and OPINIONS 153 geologists in South America and another expedi- tion is making preparations for a survey of another part of that country. "In Peru, the International Petroleum Co., Ltd., is arranging for an increase of 100 per cent in its drilling campaign, and to the north of us, The" Imperial Oil Co., Ltd., is most energetically developing production in western Canada. It has a number of 'wild cat' wells drilling; also, a rig-up with a crew in winter quarters within the Arctic circle, 1,200 miles from the nearest railroad. ' ' The report of 1914, made by the United States Geological Survey, under the direction of E. G. Woodruff and David T. Day, in united States contribution to Economic Geology, Geological United States Geological Survey, ^^^^ Bulletin 581, year 1914, says : "The oil shale in western Colorado and east- ern Utah constitutes an undeveloped reserve of petroleum to which attention was directed by the Geological Survey of 1901. The net result of the examinations already made is that these oil shale areas in Colorado contain a latent petroleum re- serve whose possible yield is several times the total remaining supply of petroleum. The gaso- line content of the petroleum that can be distilled from these shales can be conservatively stated in billions of barrels." The prefatory remarks of Marius R. Campbell to the report of Dean E. Winchester, of United States Geological Survey, on oil shale in north- 154 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY western Colorado, published in Bulletin 641-F, United States Geological Survey, year 1916, says : ' ' For several years it has been known that some shale of the Green River formation in northwest- ern Colorado would produce oil when subjected to destructive distillation, but the yield of petro- leum from the oil fields was so great that produc- tion by distillation did not seem feasible despite the fact that in Scotland such an industry has long been developed and is to-day paying dividends on a large investment. "The United States Geological Survey has regarded this oil shale as a great reserve or undeveloped resource and one that would be de- veloped as soon as demand for petroleum exceeded the supply. In anticipation of such an event E. G. Woodruff and David T. Day, in 1913, began an examination and made rough field tests to deter- mine >the richness of the shale. Although these tests were not entirely satisfactory they tended to confirm the general impression that this shale constitutes a source of oil which sooner or later will be called into use. Of course, no prediction could be made as to the date when this additional supply would be needed, but the Survey felt jus- tified in continuing the geological investigation in order that when the time of need arrived it would have first-hand information on the richness and quantity of the^hale for distillation. Accord- ingly the field examination was continued during OPINIONS 155 the summers of 1914 and 1915 by Dean E. Win- chester, who devised a more efficient portable apparatus for determining not only the quantity of crude oil in the shale but also the amount of gas and ammonium sulphate (fertilizer) that might be obtained as a by-product and sold. The experi- ments by Mr. Winchester confirmed results of the work done in the previous year and indicated even more strongly that a great quantity of high class fuel is locked up in this shale. "At the present time owing to the great in- crease in the consumption of gasoline and the failure to discover large new oil fields, it seems that the day is approaching when this additional supply will be needed and the public will demand all the information in possession of the Survey on the subject. I feel confident that this report of Mr. Winchester's will supply much of the data needed to establish and develop the oil shale indus- try of this country. "Mr. Winchester's results, which have been corroborated by tests made in the laboratory of the Bureau of Mines, show that the quantity of oil that can be derived from such shale ranges from less than one gallon to ninety gallons to the ton of shale. Mr. Winchester, as a result of field tests, estimates that in Colorado alone there is enough shale to produce twenty billion barrels of oil, and it seems probable that in actual practice a greater yield than this can be obtained. He 156 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY also estimates that three hundred million tons of ammonium sulphate can be recovered as a by- product in the manufacture of this oil. "In 1908, according to Ells, the oil shale indus- try of Scotland employed eight thousand men, of whom nearly four thousand were miners. The average yield of crude oil per ton of shale was 24.6 gallons to the short ton. The operations paid dividends in spite of this low yield. The cost of mining shale in Scotland is reported by the same author to be $1.00 per ton ; the cost of distilling crude oH from shale is 40 cents per ton, and the cost of making ammonium sulphate from the shale is 46 cents per ton. All mining in Scotland is underground and in many of the mines the shale dips at angles of from 30 to 60 degrees, and there are numerous faults which greatly increase the cost of mining. At many places in Colorado, how- ever, the rich shale has only a slight over-burden and can be mined with a steam shovel. "In Colorado alone there is sufficient shale in beds that are three feet or more thick and capable of jdelding more oil than the average shale now mined in Scotland. We estimate the yield at twenty billion barrels of crude oil from which two billion barrels of gasoline may be extracted by ordinary methods of refining. "The same shale, in addition to the oil, should produce with but little added cost, about three hundred million tons of ammonium sulphate, a compound especially valuable as a fertilizer." OPINIONS 157* A conviction tantamount to prophecy appears in the statement of former United States Oil Ad- ministrator, M, L. Eequa, in Senate Document No. 310, in which he says : Reqaa "We dare not retrench. It means the slowing down of our industries; it means a post-war competition which we shall not be able to stand. Europe is organizing for industrial competition such as the world has not yet seen, therefore conservation under present conditions means retrenchment. What is the substitute ? It must be oil — another kind of oil, perhaps, but a petroleum or rock oil. Where must we look for it? To the shales and oil-bearing coals." CHAPTEE X THE FUTURE Eapid as has been the increase in the demand for crude oU and its products, yet the future holds out even greater expectations. There are now approximately 7,500,000 in- ternal combustion engines in the United States. In ten years this number will very likely be doubled to 15,000,000. In spite of the phenomenal growth of the automobile industry there is no indication of a slackening. Good authorities assert that the next five years will show even a greater increase, or fully 10,000,000 motor cars in operation. The Ford plant alone will manufac- ture 500,000 tractors in 1920. The United States Shipping Board has ordered that all vessels greater than 5,000-ton dead weight shall be oil burners and has contracted for 31,000,000 barrels of fuel oil for 1920. France will require 8,400,000 and Italy 336,000,000 barrels of oU in 1920. The potential demand for oil in the United States by 1927 is estimated at 800,000,000 barrels. The normal annual increase in the demand for petroleum is, according to President Teagle, of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, 8.54 158 THE FUTUEE 159 per cent. Apply this for the coining five years and we find that in 1925 we shall need an annual supply of 650,000,000 barrels, or an annual supply, of 273,000,000 barrels above the production of 377,000,000 barrels in 1919. To make a bad situa- tion worse, it is estimated that by 1927, the poten- tial demand will be 800 million barrels, and the underground supply well nigh exhausted. No oil man is optimistic enough to predict that wells alone can be depended upon to produce this amount. If not, then on what must we rely? On our raw material — oil shales. Inasmuch as the oil shale industry has been in operation in Scotland since 1850 — seventy years — and has met and overcome technical, po^si^jiuti trade, and economic obstacles, it of the Shale seems a mere matter of common sense " "^^"^ for the pioneers of the industry in Colorado first to follow the well known and successful methods of Scotland; to adapt these methods to Colorado conditions, and then to improve them as far as possible by methods not now known. Besides, the production of crude oil, gas, and ammonium sul- phate, other possibilities may open, e. g., the nitrogen may be reclaimed in a form for use in the manufacture of munitions of war; aniline dyes and flotation oils may be obtained ; possibly producer gas, a substitute for rubber, and a long list of other possibilities, obtainable from any good encyclopedia, but it is simply a matter of good common sense for the pioneers in the Indus- 160 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY try to focus their attention on the few staple products for which there is a general use, a steady demand, and a good market price. After this portion of the industry is stabilized there wiU be ample time and opportunity to develop the by- products. -What have all these estimates to do with the oil shale industry? Simply this. Oil is the fuel of Oil Shale ^^ future. Greater and greater de- Comes into mands are being made upon well oil. ts Own Great as are some oil pools, yet the average production falls short of the demand. The only recourse is to the vast stores of oil shale in which lie the potential elements of the future supply of oil. Oil shales are found virtually all round the world. The demand for oil is now strong enough and the price of crude high enough to warrant the commercial production of oil from shale. A number of plants are now nearing com- pletion so that there is a likelihood that the indus- try will be on a commercial basis in the summer of 1920, or soon thereafter. The rapid increase in the demand and use of petroleum together with the unsatisfactory pro- duction has caused students of the oil ^tuation* situation serious concern. War con- ditions clouded the matter. It was expected that, with the close of the war, consump- tion would decrease, but this has not been borne out by resulting conditions. Demand has in- creased. Domestic production has failed to keep THE FUTURE 161 pace. The result is clear and certain. Industrial life, absolutely dependent upon petroleum, for without it not a wheel could turn, cannot depend longer upon the uncertain production of well petroleum. It must have a source of supply as certainly dependable as water or coal, a supply that can be counted upon year after year, else industrial life will falter. Such a source has been unexpectedly found in the enormous, world-wide deposits of oil producing shale. It is possible that the United States may be able to draw upon foreign oil fields for its needed sup- ply. Much dependence is placed upon Foreign supplies from Mexico, but political Supply conditions there are unsatisfactory. To quote President Teagle, of the Standard Oil Company, ' ' The situation is chaotic there. ' ' But the greatest obstacle to getting a foreign supply is the pre- eminence of Great Britain in the oil business. Her public men have long been familiar with the necessity of oil for every phase of industrial life. They have seen that Great Britain's supremacy depended upon oil more than upon any other single commodity. It is not too much to predict that when the real situation is uncovered it will be found that Great Britain controls, directly or in- directly, the great foreign oil fields of the world, and will take good care that her own economic needs are cared for. The oil shale industry is essentially one of very 162 OIL SHAiE INDUSTEY large tonnage, involving features of naining engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial chemistry, transportation, and distribution. No matter what difficulties may be en- Ch^racteT*^^ countered in the details of the busi- of the ness, the raw material available is n us ry virtually inexhaustible. When com- mercial plants are once established, there can be no doubt whatever of the permanence and con- tinuity of the industry for generations. At the present writing (August, 1920) there are no fully established commercial plants producing crude shale oil and disposing of it on the market, either in the crude form or through any of its refined products. There is, however, pronounced activity in Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. A number of plants are projected, some are nearly completed, and some even are reported as completed, so that the summer of 1920 is likely to see one or more plants in successful commercial operation. A care- ful comparative study of well-oil production and oil consumption clearly indicates that the supply of oil must in the near future be looked for else- where than from wells. The well nigh inexhaust- ible supply of oil shale supplies the raw material. BIBLIOGEAPHY The following bibliography is prepared, not with any pur- pose of assuming it to be complete, but with the simple purpose of listing the more recent, available, and worth-while articles on the subject. Adkinsokt, H. M. "Colorado and Utah Oil Shale." Railroad Red Book, Sep- tember, 1918. Aldkrson, Victor C. "The Oil Shale Industry." Quarterly of the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, April, 1918. October, 1919. "The Dawn of a New Industry, Part I." Oil and Gas News, Kansas City, October 30, 1919. "The Dawn of a New Industry, Part II." Oil and Gas News, Kansas City, November 6, 1919. Ashley, Geoege H. "Oil Resources of the Black Shales of the Eastern United States." U. S. G. 8. Bulletin, 641, p. 311. Bacon, Raymond F. Hamoe, Wm. a. "The Shale-Oil Industry," Vol. II, p. 807. American Petro- leum Industry, 3 vol. Baskeevillb, Charles. "Value of American Oil Shales." Bulletin of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, York, Pa., June, 1919. "Economic Possibilities of American OU Shales." Engineer- ing and Miming Journal, I, Vol. 88, p. 150; II, Vol. 88, p. 196. "American Oil Shales." Journal of Industrial and En- gineering Chemistry, Vol. V, p. 73. Belus, Joseph "Expert Information on Oil Shales." Oil and Gas Journal, Tulsa, Okla., July 25, 1919. BOWEN, C. F. "Phosphatic Oil Shales near DeU and Dillon, Montana." V. 8. G. 8. Bulletin 661. 163 164 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY Branneb, J. C. "The Oil Bearing Shales of Brazil." Trams. A. I. and M. E., Vol. Ill, p. 573. Bureau of Mines, Department op Interior "Petroleum Investigations and Production of Helium." Bulletin 178-C, Washington, June, 1919 "Bibliography of Petroleum and Allied Substances in 1916." Washington, February, 1919. "Notes on the Oil Shale Industry." Cadell, H. M. "The Story of the Forth," Glasgow, 1913. "Scottish Shale Industry." Petroleum World, Vol. 10, pp. 228-236, 1913. "The Oil Shales of the Scottish Carboniferous System." Journal of Geology, Vol. 2, p. 243, April, 1894. Catlin, R. M. "The Oil Shales of Elko, Nevada." Bulletin A. I. M. M. E., June, 1914, p. 1402. Chase, E. L. "The Oil Shale Industry in Colorado." Mining and Scietir- tifie Press, San Francisco, January 18, 1919. Chemical Age New York, August, 1919. "Oil Shale— Its Possibilities." Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering New York, January 1, 1919. "The Present Status of Oil Shales." New York, December 10, 1919. "Oil Shales and the Merchant Marine." Church, E. G. "Manufactured Gas Process of Extracting Oil from Shales." American Gas Engineering Journal, February 14, 1920, p. 117. Clark, Frank R. "Oil and Gas in Utah." Engineering and Mining Journal, New York, Oetoter 25, 1919. Coal Age New York, May, 1919. "G-L Low Temperature Carbonizing." CoLBT, Lester B. "Mountains of Oil in the West." The Railroad Bed Book, Denver, June, 1919, reprinted from Petroleum Age, New York. Commercial, The Denver, October 30, 1919. "Early Development of Shale Oil is Assured." BIBLIOGRAPHY 165 CONDIT, D. DAIiB "Oil Shale in Western Montana, Southwestern Idaho and Adjacent Parts of Wyoming and Utah." U. 8. Geological Survey Bulletin 711-B. Cunningham, R. W. "Petroleum Refining." Scientific American, Supplement No. 2285, New York, November 8, 1919. CUNNINGHAM-CRAle, E. H. "Kerogen and Kerogen Shale." Inst. Petrolewm Technolo- gists Journal, Vol. 2, pp. 238-273. "The Origin of Oil Shale." Boyal Society Edinburgh Proc, Vol. 36, pp. 44-86. DeBeqtib, G. R. "Incomplete Retorting of Shales Suggested." Engineering and Mining Journal, Feb. 21, 1920, p. 523. "Oil Shales of DeBeque, Colorado." Engineering and Min- ing Journal, January 31, 1920, p. 348. "The Bituminous Shale Industry in Northwestern Colorado." Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 102, pp. 1011-12. "The Bituminous Shales of Colorado." Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 99, pp. 773-4. DoMviLLE, Senator James "Petroleum Oils and Spirits." The Debates of the Senate, Ottawa, Canada, October 1, 1919. Egloit, Gustav MoHjtKLL, Jas. C. "Supply of OU Available from Shale." Oil and Gas Jour- nal, August 9, 1918. Ells, R. W. "Bituminous Shales of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick." Canadian Geological Survey, Branch of the Bureau of Mines, pp. 132-142, 1908. "Oil Shales of Eastern Canada," pp. 200-216; ditto, 1909. Engineering and Mining Journal New York, September 13, 1919. "Investigations of the Oil Shale Industry." New York, October 23, 1919. "Distillation of Oil Shale in Germany." New York, November 15, 1919. "Treatment Costs of Oil Shales." Forbes-Leslie, William "The Norfolk Oil Shales." Petroleum Review, Vol. 35, pp. 327-328. Gavin, M. J. 166 OIL SHALE INDUSTEY Hill, H. H. Peedew, W. E. "Notes on the Oil Shale Industry with Particular Reference to the Rocky Mountain District." Bureau of Mines, Washington, May 1, 1919. Hall, W. A. "Gasoline Can Be Taken Prom Oil Shale." Petroleum Times, Vol. 10, p. 50. Jakowskt, J. J. Sibley, P. H. "Shale Deposits of United States Rich in Oil." Oil and Gas Journal, November 7, 1919, p. 58. Jenne, H. L. "Oil Shale Deposits, Blue Mountains, New South Wales." Engineering amd Mining Journal, Vol. 90, p. 407. Knight, Beitt Y. "Shale Oil's Prospects as a Woman Sees Them." The Bail- road Bed Book, Denver, July, 1919. LuNT, H. p. Dalbymple, Jambs DiTCE, James "The Oil Shales of Northwestern Colorado." Colorado Bureau of Mines, Bulletin No. 8, August 1, 1919. McCoy, A. W. "OU Accumulation." Journal of Geology, Chicago, Vol. 27, p. 252. Mining World (The), Vol. 34, p. 74. "Trajisvaal Oil Shale Deposits." Mitchell, G. E. "Billions of Barrels of Oil Locked up in Rocks." Nat. Geog. Mag., Vol. 33, p. 195. Oil and Gas Journal Tulsa, Okla., September, 1919. "Petroleum News of Foreign Countries." October 17, 1919. "Alum Shale Mineral Oil to be Sought in Sweden." November 7, 1919. "Shale Deposits in the United States." November 28, 1919. "Unmined Oil Supply." October 10, 19l9, p. 64. "Developing Norfolk Oil Shale Field." December 5, 1919, p. 75. "Wallace Process for Distilling Shale Oil." BIBLIOGRAPHY 167 February 28, 1919. "General Information on Oil Shales." Bureau of Mines. Oil and Gas News Kansas City, March 13, 1919. "Shale Beds — Our Insurance Against Petroleum Exhaus- tion." October, 1919. "Information Concerning Oil Shale at Dillon, Montana." October 10, 1919. "Present Status of the Shale Oil Industry in United States." Oil News, The Chicago, June 5, 1919. "The Tuel Problem of Brazil." Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter New York, July 28, 1919. "Shale Oil Standardization Work on Large Scale Planned by United States." Pbabse, a. L. "The Oil Shale Industry." Mining and Scientific Press, San Francisco, July 25, 1919. Pet&oleum Times London, Eng., July 5, 1919. "Norfolk and Its Oil Shales." August 9 and 16, 1919. "Norfolk Oil Shale Fields." July 12, 1919. "The Norfolk Oil Shales." September 20, 1919. "Oil Shale Possibilities in France." February 28, 1920. "The Oil Shale Industry of Norfolk." Prevost, C. a. "Commercial Treatment of Oil Shale." The Bailroad Bed Book, Denver, April, 1919. Eailroad Red Book, The Denver, February, 1919. "Some Concise Information on Oil Shale; Its Possibili- ties and Needs." By the U. S. Bureau of Mines, In- terior Department, Washington, D. C. Denver, Februarj', 1919. "A Symposium on Western Oil Shales." Denver, April, 1919. "Successful Oil Shale Operation in Scotland." Report 168 OIL SHALE INDUSTEY of the Directors of the Pumpherston Oil Company, Limited, to the Thirty-flfth Annual General Meeting held in Glasgow, March 29, 1918, by the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Thomson M'Lintoch. Denver, May, 1919. "Shale Oils Superior to Petroleum in the Production of Mineral Oils." Denver, July, 1919. "Oil Shale and the Products of Its Distillation, Part I." Courtesy of the Petroleum World, London, England. Denver, July, 1919. "A Symposium on Western Oil Shales." Reprinted from the February, 1919, issue. Denver, August, 1919. "Oil Shale and the Products of Its Distillation, Part II." Courtesy of the Petroleum World, London, England. Redwood, Sir Boveeton "The Shale Oil and Allied Industries." Vol. II, p. 83. A Treatise on Petroleum, Vol. III. ROESCHLADB, H. M. "Possibilities of the Oil Shale Industry." Engvneering and Mining Journal, Nevir York, October 4, 1919. Russell, W. C. "Commercial Possibilities of the Oil Shale Industry in Col- orado." Railroad Bed Book, December, 1918. Salt Lake Mining Review Salt Lake City, March 30, 1919. "The Galloupe Shale Process." Salt Lake City, April 15, 1919. "Oil Shales of the Great Uintah Basin, Utah." SCHEITAtJEE, W. "Shale Oils and Tar." Scott, Greenwood & Son, London, 1913. Simpson, Louis "Oil- Yielding Shales in the Province of New Brunswick." Bulletin Canadian Mining Institute, Ottawa, January, 1919. "Present Status of Oil Shale." Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, New York, March 1, 1919. "The Importance of the Retort in the Economic Utilization of Oil- Yielding Shales." Bulletin Canadian Institute of Mining Engineers, March, 1919. "The Importance of the Retort to the Exploitation of Col- orado Shales." The Railroad Bed Book, Denver, May, 1919. BIBLIOGRAPHY 169 "Recovery of the Nitrogen in Oil Shales." Chemical omd Metallurgical Engineering, New York, January 7, 1920. "Oil Shales." Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, New York, August 15, 1919. Smith, J. T. "Great English Oil Field." Petroleum World, September, 1919, p. 365. SMrrH, Geo. Otis "A Foreign Oil Supply for the United States." Bulletin A. I. M. M. E., January, 1920. South Afeican Mining and Engineering Jottrnal. January 10, 1920, pp. 397-8. "The New Oil Industry of South Africa." February 7, 1920, pp. 491-2. "Transvaal Oil Shales." STAiMANN, Otto "Notes on Oil Shale and Its Treatment for the Production of Crude Oil." The Railroad Bed Book, Denver, March, 1919. Steijabt, D. K. "The Oil Shale Industry in Scotland." Economic Geology, Vol. Ill, p. 573. SUNDEBLIN, E. A. "A New Process Treatment of Oil Shale." Bailroad Bed Book, June, 1918. Wallace, G. W. "A Shale Oil Plant on a New System." Petroleum World, Vol. 15, pp. 46-64. "An Up-to-date Shale Oil Plant." Petroleum Age, Vol. 5, pp. 321-4. "Oil Extraction From Shale.'' Petroleum Age, Vol. 5, pp. 393-5. White, David "The Unmined Supply of Petroleum in the United States." Automotive Industries, New York, February 13, 1919. Also, National Petroleum News, February 12, 1919. Williams, E. N. "Interesting Angles of the Shale Oil Industry from the Re- finery Viewpoint." Oil Weekly, November 15, 1919. WiNCHESTEE, D. E. "Oil Shale and Its Development in the United States." The Bailroad Red Book, Denver, January, 1919. "Oil Shales." Journal of the Franklin Institute, Phila- delphia, June, 1919. 170 OIL SHALE INDUSTRY "Oil Shales of America." Petroleum Times, London, Ene., July, 1919. "Oil Shale and Its Development in the United States." Chemical Age, New York, August, 1919. "The Oil Shales of Colorado and Utah, Part I." Eeprinted by permission from Journal of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, June, 1919. The Railroad Bed Book, Den- v©r Sft'ntfiTYihfiT 1919 "The Oil Shales of Colorado and Utah, Part II." Reprinted by permission from Journal of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, July, 1919. The Railroad Bed Book, Den- ver, October, 1919. "Oil Shale in the United States." Economic Geology, Vol. 12, p. 505-18. "Oil Shales in Northwestern Colorado and Adjacent Areas.'' U. S. G. S. Bulletin 641-F. "Oil Shale in the Uintah Basin, Northwestern Utah." "Re- sults of Dry Distillation of Miscellaneous Shale Samples." U. S. G. S. Bulletin 691-B. "Contorted Bituminous Shale of Green River Formation in Northwestern Colorado." Journal Washington Acad. Sci., Vol. 9, p. 295. Wolf, H. J. "Commercial Possibilities of Oil Shale." Engineering a/nd Mining Journal, New York, rebruary 1, 1919. Woodruff, E. G. Day, David T. "The Oil Shale of Northwestern Colorado and Northeastern Utah." V. S. G. S. Bulletin Sdl-A. Wright, C. W. "Oil Shale Deposits Must Be Developed." Oil and Gas News, Kansas City, August 8, 1919. INDEX Albert Mines, 39 American and Scotch shales compared, 67 Ammonia liquor, 71, 94, 99 Ammonia scrubber plant, des- cription of, 69, 73 Ammonium sulphate, 17, 27, 72, 91, 94, 108 Analysis of shale, method of, 94ff Anderson process, 41 Arnold, Ralph, early report of, 39 Asphalt base oil, 52 Austria-Hungary, shale, 16 Australia shale, 27 Automobiles, increase of, 3, 6, 13, 158 Autun, Prance, shale, 16, 26 Baltimore, Canada, shale, 38 Becker patent, 34 Bishop process, 41 Black shale of the eastern states, 109, 110 Boghead coal, 35, 39 Brazil shale, 16, 28 Breaking shale, 47 Broxburn Oil Company, Ltd., 36, 37 Brown process, 41 Bureau of Mines, United States, 2, 3, 42, 45, 82, 92, 109, 126, 139, 140, 141, 142, 144, 155 Experimental work, 82 Burkburnett pool, 2 Buxi^re Leo Mines, France, 16, 26 California shale, 16 Canada shale, 16, 22, 39 Capital required, 128 Carlin, Nevada, deposits at, 32, 46 CatUn process, 41 Gatlin Shale Products Com- pany, description of plant, 32, 42 Chemical investigations, 107 108, 130 Chemileal principles involved, 53 Chew process, 41 Colorado School of Mines, 94, 106, 109, 114 Chemical investigations, 94, 107 Experimental work, 106, 109 Method of analysis, 104 Colorado shale, 29, 30, 117, 137 Comparative value of oil shale and well oil land, 117 Complete oil shale plant, 78 Condenser, 69 Condit, D. Dale, investigations of, 40 Consumers Oil and Shale Com- pany, 44 Continental OU Shale Mining and Refining Company, 44 Costs: Mining and retorting, 122 Mining, retorting, and re- fining, 123, 134 Distillation plant, 123, 134 Refining plant, 117, 123, 131 I Dawn of a new industry, 1 Day, David T., investigations of, 40, 87, 153, 154 171 172 INDEX De Beque, Colorado, deposits at, 44, 46 Decomposition : Primary, 57 Secondary, 58 Del Monte process, 41 De-polymerization, 114 Destructive distillation, descrip- tion of, 55 Distillation, 58 Analytical, 60 Heat of, 58, 59 Comparison with and without steam, 60, 62, 92, 108 Diaijaond drilling of shale de- posits, 49 Dillon, Montana, deposits at, 32 Dividends, Scotch, 120 Dover, Canada, shale, 23 Dragon, Utah, plant at, 45, 86 Economic factors, 116 ff. Education process, 41 Elko, Nevada, deposits at, 31 plant at, 42 English Oilfields, Ltd., 21 Experimental work, 81fE Field distillations, results of, 87 Fisher, C. A., early report of, 39 Foreign supply, 152, 153 France, shale, 26 Franks, A. J., investigations of, 106, 114 Fuel Administration, report of, 3 Fundamental characteristics, 15, 16 Future of the industry, 2, 158fE. Galloupe process, 41 Gas, 76 Composition of, 76 Heat value of, 77 Amount recoverable, 77, 91, 133 Gasner, Dr. Abram, early vfork of, 38 Gasoline, 3, 6, 78 Gasoline absorption plant, des- cription of, 70 Gilbert, Chester G., opinion of, 147 Grand VaUey, Colorado, de- posits at, 46, 83 Grand Valley Oil and Shale Company, 44 Hager, Dorsey, opinion of, 148 Henderson retort, 37, 72 History of the industry, 33fE. Early investigations, 33 Scotland, 34-38 United States, 38-45 Hydrocarbons, 55, 56, 57 Saturated, 57 Unsaturated, 57 Investment value and income, 116 Italy, shale, 16 Jenson process, 41 Jones, J. B., investigations of, 82 Juab, Utah, first retort at, 39 Kentucky, shale, 16 Kerogen, nature of, 17, 55 KimbaU Creek, exposures on, 88 Lane, Franklin K., opinion of, 142 Leasing oil shale land, regula- tions for, 50, 118 Lioeation of oil shale land, 117, 118 Lubricating oils, 2, 83 Comparative tests, 84 Manning, Van H., opinion of, 139, 140, 141, 142 Methods of Mining, 46fE. Open cut, 46 Boom and pillar, 46 Mining regulations, 48 Mitchell, Guy Elliott, opinion of, 149 Montana, shale, 16, 32 INDEX 173 Mormons, early retort of, 39 Mount Logan trail, exposures on, 88 Mount Logan Oil Shale Mining and Eefining Company, 44 Mozambique, South Africa, shale, 16 Natal, South Africa, shale, 16 Nevada shale, 16, 31 New Brunswick shale, 16, 23, 24 New Brunswick Shale Company, Ltd., 24 New Industry, the dawn of, 1 Newfoundland shale, 16, 25 New South Wales shale, 16, 27 New Zealand shale, 16 Nitrogen in oil shale, 56 Norfolk, England, deposits at, 16, 21 Nova Scotia, shale, 16, 22, 24 Oakbank Oil Company, Ltd., 37 Oil (petroleum) : Advance in price of, 11 Analytical distillation of, 94 Basis of industrial life, 3 Consumption and production, 2, 6, 7, 151, 152 Consumption by refineries, 7 Exhaustion of supply, 2 Foreign supply, 152, 153 Fractionation, 103 Imports from Mexico, 8, 151 Nature of, 52 New Uses for: Airplanes, 3, 12 Auto trucks, 3, 12 Oil burning steamers, 3, 12 Eoad use, 13 Tractors, 3, 13 Need of, 3 Peak of production, 2, 7, 10, 12 Possibilities of, 139, 159 Present condition of the in- dustry, 1 Price of crude, advance in, 11 Price of refined products, 12 Oil (petroleum) (eont.) Production, 7, 117 By fields, 4, 9, 10 By products, 8 By wells, 4 Production and consumption, 2,6,7 Protection of reserves, 2 Eefining tests, 110, 111, 113 Shale oil vs. well petroleum, 5, 14, 124 Situation precarious, 14, 145, 159 Wells, 2, 4, 5 Oil shale: Amount to the square mile, 117 Amount available, 117, 118 in Colorado, 30 in Uintah basin, 29 in Utah, 29 Complete plant, 78 Distribution : Australia, 27 Scotland, 16ff., 34 Isle of Skye, 16, 20 France, 26 England, 21 Canada, 22 New Brunswick, 23, 38, 39 Nova Scotia, 24, 25 Quebec, 25 Newfoundland, 25 Transvaal, 27 Brazil, 28 Sweden, 28 United States : Uintah basin, 29 Utah, 39, 86 Colorado, 16, 29, 30, 39, 44 Garfield county, 29 Eio Blanco county, 44 Mesa county, 30 Moffat county, 29 Grand Valley, 44, 112 De Beque, 44 Indiana, 110 Nevada^ 16, 31, 110 Montana, 16, 32 174 INDEX Location of claims, 118, 119 Nature of, 15, 52 Origin of, 16, 29 Phosphoric, 32 Possibilities of by-products, 159 Scotch and American com- pared, 67 Tests, 48, 110 Colorado School of Mines, 45, 94, 106 Dragon, Utah, 45, 86, 87 Value of shale land, 118 Opinions of: Chester G. Gilbert, 147 Dorsey Hager, 148 Pranklin K. Lane, 142 Van H. Manning, 140, 141, 142 Guy Elliott Mitchell, 149 Joseph E. Pogue, 147 George Otis Smith, 14, 143, 145, 146 Walter Clark Teagle, 151, 158 Dean E. Winchester, 151 Parachute Creek, exposures on, 39, 88, 118 Paraffin base oil, 38 Pearse process, 41 Pennsylvania, shale, 16 ( Petroleum, Nature of (see Oil) Pogue, Joseph E., opinion of, 147 Present condition of the oil in- dustry, 1, 13, 14 Priehard process, 41 Primary decomposition, 57 Promotions, 82 Pumpherston Oil Company, Ltd., 23, 36 Quebec, shale, 16, 25 Ranger pool, production of, 2 Eandall process, 42 Eeduction plant, complete, 116, 117 Eefining tests: By Wells process, 110, 111, 112 Eefining tests: (cent.) By J. B. Jones, 110, 111 At Tulsa, Oklahoma, 110, 113 Average results, 104ff., 113 Eeichenbach, early discoveries of, 33 Eequa, M. L., opinion of, 157 Eetort: Importance of, 52 American, 53, 66 Scotch, 68 Eequirements for, 64 Technical, 53, 64 Economic, 64, 65, 66 Eetorting and reduction, 52flE. Eiviera, France, shale, 16, 26 Saturated hydrocarbons, 57 Scotch companies, 35, 36 Dividends, 120 Costs, 120 Scotch shale, 16, 130 Compared with American, 136, 137 Deposits of, 16 Description of, 16, 18 Production of, 17, 18, 19 Products, 18 Eeduction works, descrip- tion of, 20 Scott education plant, 41 Secondary decomposition, 58 Serbia, shale, 16 Significant features of the in- dustry, 130 Simpson process, 41 Skye, Isle of, 20 Smith, George Otis, opinion of, 14, 143, 145, 146 South Africa, Transvaal, shale, 16 Spain, shale, 16 Stalmann process, 41 Steam, use of, 60, 62, 92, 93 Steuart, D. E., description of Scotch works, 20, 39 Sulphate of ammonia plant, description of, 73 Sulphuric acid, amount needed, 94 Summary of field tests, 90 INDEX 175 Sweden, Government Commis- sion, 28 Tasmania shale, 16 Taylorville, Canada, shale, 23 Teagle, Walter Clark, opinion of, 151, 158 Testing oil shale ground, 30 Texas, shale, 16 Tonnage, 108 Torbane Hill material, 17, 35 Transvaal, South Africa, shale, 16, 27 Turkey, shale, 16 Uintah Basin, 29, 91 University of Utah, experi- mental work at, 45 United States Geological Sur- vey, 2, 6, 32, 40, 70, 87, 90, 91, 107, 109, 141, 143, 146, 150, 153, 154 Experimental work, 150 United States Bureau of Mines, 2, 3, 31, 42, 45, 82, 92, 109, 126, 139, 140, 141, 142, 144, 155 Experimental work, 82 Unsaturated hydrocarbons, 57 Utah, shale, 46, 117 Ute Oil Company, plant of, 45 Value of oil shale land, 118 Volatile products, 35 Wallace process, 41 Wallace, G. W., 86 Experimental work, 86, 114 Watson, Utah, plant at, 45, 46 Webb vs. American Aaphaltum Company, case of, 119 Western Shale Oil Company, plant of, 45 West Virginia, shale, 16 Winchester, Dean E., 40 Investigations of, 91, 92 Opinion of, 151, 153 Wingett process, 41 Woodruff, E. G., investigations of, 40, 153, 154 Wyoming, shale, 16, 41, 117 Young, James, early discoveries of, 33 Young's Paraffin Light and Mineral Company, Ltd., 36