The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1923-07-19
The Oil Supply

When the flow of that liquid gold
known as petroleum gives sign OF
stacking, and as a consequence the ma
TONS millions of automobiles and
tractors and motor BUSES seem likely
to diminish for lack of fuel, the far
stretching reserves of oil shale in the
United States stand out as the most
important resources of substitutes for
petroleum oils, says the United States
Bureau of Mines.
These shales, veritable untapped res
ervoirs of oil, undrelie enormous ar
cas- of the country. Those of the
most economic Importance occur, how
ever, in various eastern states, notably
Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, and 9TH
er shales are found in many states.
The, great economic Importance of oil
shales is that when the industry is
properly developed, the United States
will have new domestic supply Not
mineral oils, which cannot be cut off in
time of war, and which will always
be ready to help meet the nations de-
mand for oil.
"There is good reason to believe that
in the next several years the domestic.
production of petroleum will decrease,
while the demand for it's production
will increase" the Bureau officials de-
clare, 'and oil shales can we'll make
up for the deficiency of crude petrole-
UNI as a source of refined mineral oil
products"
The future of the oil shale industry
in this country will depend upon the
relative supply Of, and demand for, pc
troleum products in the regions re-
mote from the seaboards, according to
the bureau. However, even under the
most favorable conditions, develop
rnent of American shale oil must be
slow, it was added. Although this can
be fastened by the employment of spe-
cialists, the proper kind of expert
mental work, and sincere cooperation
and mutual helpfulness among oil
shale operators.
To produce oil from shales the in
dustry would have to approach the
countrys annual coal production, of
great demand is to be met Nearly
LOO shale retorting plants each put
ting through 1000 tons of shale every
day in the year, would be necessary to
meet the present rate of petroleum
production. These figures are based on
an assumption that the shale mined
would yield an average of IL gallons
of oil per ton. The total quantity of
shale to be mined, then, would reach
400, 100000 tons.
This would also require TRVestment
of GREAT sums of capital to make the
shale oil industry one of commercial
consideration 1t is probable that the
investment necessary for an oil shale
retorting and refining plant will ap-
proximate $4,000 per barrel of shale
oil daily capacity, bureau experts tig-
ure. The present annual production
of domestic petroleum is at the rate
of over 4OO,OOO,OOO barrels. The ! in
vestment in retorts and refinerles
alone for an industry to approach this
magnitude would be more than S3,O0O,-
600 900. This does not include estl-
mated cost of lands, opening and de-
veloping mines; nor does 1T lnclude
the cost of developing subsidiary IN
dustries, without which shale-oll IN
dustry could not exist.
Oil shale' is a compact, laminated
rock of sedimentary origin, yielding
over SO per cent of ash and contain
ing organic matter that gives oil when
distilled, but not appreciably when
extracted per ton Of rock varies con-
siderably also.
However, extraction of oil from
shales~has proved successful in vari-
Gus countries, the outstanding one be-
ing Scotland, where the industry has
been developing since 1850, and where
the investment is in excess of $4,000
600. Production of bituminous ma
terilas has been known at least as
early as 1649, when, in Shropshire,
England, "oyle from kind of stone"
was distilled. AS early as 1851 also,
oils were distilled from bituminous or
oil-shales for medicinal purposes, and
in 1916 work in England produced oil
and amonia by the distillation of coal.