The Cordova daily times., 1923-01-27
OIL STALE MAY SUPPLYFUTURE
 U. FUEL NEED

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27.--1f ever cum in the United States comes to pass there will spring up in lts wake the eftpredicted shorage of petrol, an inaqstFy destined to become para mount tR the eeMpercial life of the nation-.hat of doyelspipg the latent possibilities of oi! shaie.
 This is the conclusion of Martin J, Gavin, refinery engineer of the United States Bureau of Mines, who has Just completed an exhaustive study of tho personalities of the oil. shale industry.
 Far-stretching reserves of oil shale, veritable uatapped reservoirs of oil, underlie enormous areas of the coun- try, Gavin said, and they stand out as the most important resources of substitutes for petroleum oil. Those of the most economic importance, he stated, occur in Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, although great areas of black shale abound in var ious other states, notably Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.
 To Fill All Needs
 "The great economic importance of oil shales," Gavin continued, lis that, when the industry is properly developed, the United States will have a new domestic supply of min eral oils which can not be cut off in time of war and which, come what may, will always be ready to help meet the nations demand for oil, no matter what the worlds petroleum situation may be- .--....--...
 The largest oil shales are in the Rocky Mountain region and belong to the Green River formation in northwestern Colorado, southwestern Wyoming and northeastern Utah, ac- 
 cording to Gavin.
 "trhe Green River formation" he said. |" contains persistent beds up 10 49 feet thick that will yield at least 35 gallons of crude oil to the ton, More thorough surveying and gampling may discover thicker seams
  of equal or greater richness. A re gently discovered 2-foot seam yielded over 50 gallons of oil to the ton. Tn Colorado the Green River forma- tion attains a maximum thickness of about 2,6O0 feet,
 Ninety Gallons to Ton
 "Some beds, most of them tao thin to be worked commercially, have yielded up to 90 gallons of oil to the ton in laboratory tests, and it is safe to assume the Green River formation contains enough shale ol workable thickness to supply large amount of material that for many years will yield over 35 gallons tt the ton. These shales will also yielt per ton upward of 20 pounds of am monium sulphate, valuable for fer tiizer purposes
 Nevada's oil shades, Gavin said occur mostly in the eastern district near Elko and Carlin. They diffe physically and chemically from tho '. les of the Green River formation ',-H 2re us.ialy somewhat lighter il a~,o" f. the same yield of oil. i The California deposits are largely hardly true oil shales, the average oil yield being low. The best do no yield much more than 20 gallons tC the ton, and the nitrogen contents is very low But they have commer cial possibilities, their low yield o oil notwithstanding, owing to tn thickness of deposits and their ac possibility.
 OiLshale beds, three feet or nor  thick, that will yield up to 30 gallon of oil to the ton exist near Dillon Montana, Gavin said. Black shaIe capable of yielding possibly economic quantities of oil occur in Indiana Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, New Yoork Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ten nessee. Similar shades yielding ma terial quantities of oil have been re ported in Missouri Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
 Of Great Importance
 To the states in which they occur Gavin asserted, oil shades are of vas economic importance
 | "Whon the shale industry hprinS