Progress to unlocking over 800 billion barrels of oil shale

Red Leaf Resources, Inc. has developed the EcoShale™ In-Capsule Technology to economically and environmentally produce high quality liquid transportation fuels from oil shale, oil sands, coal, lignite and bio-mass. (H/T Al Fin)

The EcoShale™ In-Capsule Technology involves heating mined shale in a closed surface impoundment, or capsule. The process relies on conventional mining and construction methods and produces a bottomless oil product that requires no coking. The process produces a shale oil with a much higher concentration of middle distillate than West Texas intermediate crude. Two synthetic shale oil products are produced: (1) prompt oil of approximately 29 API gravity; (2) condensate oil of approximately 39 API gravity. The oil and condensate produced with this process have no fines and have very low acid numbers.

The technology requires no process water, protects groundwater and vegetation, uses low temperatures for heating and allows for rapid site reclamation.

The EcoShale™ In-Capsule Technology process is expected to produce commercially attractive returns to investment at oil prices greater than about US$45-per-barrel.

It is estimated that the average water usage across oil shale technologies is one-three barrels per barrel of oil produced. Red Leaf Resources anticipates that approximately eight gallons, or one-fifth a barrel of water, will be required to produce a barrel of oil using the EcoShale™ In-Capsule Technology. Test pilot results support this calculation.

TomCo Energy is a London-based company which owns leases on over 3000 acres of oil shale land in Utah’s Uintah Basin. The Uinta Basin is the site of the massive Eocene Green River Shale formation – potentially the largest reservoir of unconventional petroleum in the world. With total reserves estimated at up to 1.3 trillion barrels, and ultimately recoverable reserves of 800 billion barrels or more , this formation holds three times or more the amount of Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves.

The test of the EcoShale™ In-Capsule technology was carried out in the Uintah Basin in Utah. The field test pilot validated the technology modeling and engineering design aspects. The process produced a high quality product with a prompt oil that was approximately 29 API gravity, about 65% paraffin + naptha, and about 12.6% hydrogen. A condensate liquid was also produced with an approximate 39 API gravity, about 55% paraffin + naptha, and about 12.9% hydrogen.

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