Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1916-09-21
SRALE BEDS RICH
IN VALUABLE oils
TESTS SHOW GASOLINE YIELD 10
TEN PER CENT
Colorado, Utah and Wyoming Can Sup
ply Billions of Gallons of Motor
Fuel, Ammonia, Etc.

In view of the fact that crude oil
IS steadily increasing in price and
that the demand for gasoline is grow
Jig larger every day, it may be some
comfort to the owners of motor cars,
tC know that sort safety valve-
Is provided by nature in the shale
beds of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
When the price of gasoline goes
Just so high-high enough to make
profitable the working of these al
II ost ineXhaustible shale deposits
tie process of extracting the various
ingredients of which they are compos-
e. will begin on large scale.
This shale contains materials
which, when heated, may be convert.
ed into crude oil, gas and ammonia.
The high cost of distilling oil from
ehale as compared to the cost OF pro-
ducing oil from the wells Of Oklaho-
ma and other states has thus far pre-
vented the development in this coun-
try of such an industry. And it may
continue to prevent 1t for some time,
but sooner or later this great source
OF supply will be utilized to supple
ment the decreasing production from
the regular oil fields.
The oil taken from these shale beds
1s very much the same as that which
is being produced from wells in this
country at the rate of more than ESQ.,
100000 barrels year. When refined
by ordinary methods, the shale oil
yields an average of about 10 per cent
gasoline, 80 per cent kerosene, and q
large amount of paraffin The gas,
which is of a high grade, will be suf-
ficient to furnish all the heat required
to distill the crude oil from the shale.
A most valuable by-product of the
distillaton is ammonia and may be
utilized in the manufacture OF COM
mercial fertilizer or other nitrogen
compounds, as the market dsmands.
The United States Geological Survey
has examined large areas Of the shalo
in northwestern Colorado and adjoin-
ing portions of Utah and Wyoming,
and has made many tests. Some beds
Of shale that are several feet thick
will yield more than barrel of oil
"
inches thick will yield more than two
barrels Of crude oil to the ton OF
shale. One ton of this shale should
therefore yield nearly ten gallons OF
gasoline by the present commercial
methods of gasoline extraction. and
still better yields may be had by i'm
proved methods.
koo
10 this shale because the quantity OF
petroleum produced from wells in this
country has been sufficient to satisfy
all demands. but for more than 80
years the oil shale industry Of Scot
iand has been very important enc.
In a recent year more than 5000 men
were employed in the industry in
that country. yet the average wied OF
oil per ton of shale was much less
than that which appears possible from
the shaie of this country.
It has been estimated that in Colo
RADIO alone there is enough shale, in
beds from three to four feet thick.
~nd richer than the shale being mined
in Scotland, to yield twenty billion
barrels Of crude oil, from which at
least two billion barrels Of gasoline
may be extracted by ordinary meth
ods now in use.
AS was stated in the reply of Sec
retary Lane to a senate resolution on
the subject of gasoline: "The devel-
opment OF this enormous reserve
simply awaits t,e 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
be drawn upon long before the ex-
haustion of the netroleum fields "