26th Colorado Oil Shale Symposium

Oil Shale Research

Oil shale is a thinly layered, blocky to fissile (breaking into thin layers), sedimentary rock rich in preserved organic material that yields

significant amounts of oil and gas when heated sufficiently. Oil

shale was commonly deposited in large, fresh to highly saline lakes

or in shallow marine environments. The organic material consists of kerogen, a complex mix of fossilized remains mainly of algae and cyanobacteria.

The global resource of oil potentially available from oil shale is

substantially larger than the amount of oil produced historically.

Potential reserves have been estimated at 2.8 trillion barrels of oil. However, recent revision of Chinese resource estimates may potentially

add ~300 billion barrels to the global resource. All estimates of

recoverable shale oil are uncertain at this time, but at least ten

countries have resources estimated at greater than 15 billion barrels,

most of them outside the Middle East.

The Colorado School of Mines is pleased to announce formation of the Center for Oil Shale Technology and Research (COSTAR) to conduct research in support of development of this resource. The kickoff

meeting for this center was held at CSM April 17-18, 2008. Research

will cover:

Rock Physics and Rock Mechanics
Geological and Stratigraphic Controls on Oil Shale Formation
Geochemistry of Oil Shale

In addition, the Center will support an Oil Shale Information Office to:

Develop a geographically referenced database of oil shale materials from CSM’s large repository of related materials.
Support research into oil shale, including assistance to researchers, cataloguing and analysis of available data, and continued support of the Oil Shale Symposium series.

The Center, along with the Colorado Energy Research Institute (CERI), the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and other sponsors hosts the annual Oil Shale Symposium. The Oil Shale Symposium is the premier technical meeting on this resource. The Symposium will review development of oil shale resources worldwide, including research & development, environmental impact analysis, regulatory framework, and project & program status. The program includes both oral and poster presentations.