Pueblo chieftain., 1921-01-17

be put on the market until COM
mercial stock has been accumulated.
To Mr.. r. NJ. Catlin, Franklin Fur
mace, New Jersey, who alone has fl
nanced this undertaking and has done
the experimental work, together with
w. L. Scheeler, the superintendent be.
longs the credit of operating the first
commercially productive oil shale
plant in the United States.
In Utah the Western Shale on Com
pany erected q ten ton plant OF the
Galloupe type, was producing regular
ly, and had contracted with the Apex
Refining Company for the delivery Of
oil. A fire, however. interfered with
operations. Four additional units or
ten ton capacity each are under con-
pleted by February l. This will be in
creased to 100 tons by March 1. Tho
company estimates that the total cost
of production of oil in this plant VIII
be s1.25 n barrel.
The black Devonian shalcs in Ken
shale than any other deposit now
known in the United States. The pro-
cess for their treatment, as worked
out at the Detroit Testing Laboratories
for the Devon Oil Shale Products
Company. consists of a modified
Scotch process. An analysis or the
shale gave oil per ton. 22.7 gallons;
gas per ton. A. 1s7 Gu. TT: ammonium
sulphate sper ton, 97.S pounds; potash
as K2O per ton OF spent shale, 5S.S
pounds. The company is now erect
ing a complete plant at Clay city,
lucky. The first unit Will be of 90
tons daily capacity to be increased
ultimately to 1900 tons. The cost of
mining and retortinG is estimated at
s1.M II ton. At Petersburg. Va, six
full sized retorts of the Wallace type
are under construction.
In Colorado activity has been pro-
rounced especially in and about Grand
Valley and Debeque. At Grand Val
ley the Grand Valley Oil and Shale
Company is erecting a Stalmann re-
tort and Wells Refining plant on
their property in Starkey Eulch SIN
miles north of town. The company IS
also erecting a testing and research
laboratory in the town of Grand val
ley. The Union Oil Company of Call
fornia and the Midwest Oil Company
have both secured extensive acreage.
The Schuyler Doyle interests are erect
ing a Taft retort in Wheeler Eulch.
At Debeduc the w. =. Harmon inter
ests have acquired approximately 10
900 acres. are engaged in diamond
drillin~ the ground and are planning
to erect plant. The Lackawanna
Company is erecting Randall retort.
the Mount Blaine n Brown retort, and
the Monarch Company a Ginet retort.
The Mount Logan company Is opeFdt-
ing Simplex retort. In Rio Bianco
county the Continental Oil Shale Com
pany has n 30 ton plant ready for
operation in the spring. In Denver l.
p Chew. of the National Oil Shaie
Company. has erected commercial
sized vertical retort and is doing ex-
perimental work on both retorting and
refining. ]. Med. Johns, OF the In
dustrial Process Company OF St. Louis
has put UP full sized inclined retort
the peculiar feature of which is that
the shale is reduced to q very fine
size: "A part OF this powdered shalc is
| used as fuel to heat the rotort and the
rest is put through tho rctort and
yields gas and oil.
COST OF OIL sHALE LAND
The cost of oil shale land in Ken
lucky. during the past year, has in
creased from $500 to s112.5O an
acre. In Nevada and California large
tracts of undeveloped ground have
been secured at few dollars an aero.
In Colorado and Utah the value of
shale land varies greatly. according TO
location and natural advantages. 1t
is fairly safe to say. from general OBJ
servation and some known sales, that
during the past year tho selling price