| OCR Text |
Show Shale Oil Production Feasible At Today's Market, Official Sal Says Production of crude oil from the rich oil shale deposits of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming is commercially feasible at current world oil prices using a process owned by Paraho Development Corporation. That is the conclusion of a three-year privately-funded $10 million test of the Paraho process and equipment at the federally-owned Anvil Points Oil Shale Facilities near Rifle, Colorado. The major obstacles to launching a shale oil industry in the U.S. are domestic oil price controls and unrealistic environmental restriction according to Harry Pforz-heimer, Pforz-heimer, Praho Program Director, Di-rector, and John B. Jones, Jr., President of Development Engineering, En-gineering, Inc., and inventor of the Paraho process. The final report on the successful Paraho Oil Shale Demonstration Program was reviewed for the 17 energy oriented participants at a meeting in the Cosmopolitan Hotel today. At a press conference con-ference at the Brown Palace Hotel, Pforzheimer and Jones presented copies of the six volume, 1,500 page, final report re-port to representatives of the Energy Research and Development Devel-opment Administration and the Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves. After appropriate review, ERDA is expected to publish the Paraho Para-ho report. "The Program proved the Paraho process works successfully suc-cessfully and appears to be a key to initiating the recovery of shale oil from the deposits in this tri-state area," Pforzheimer Pforz-heimer said. He pointed out the 600 billion barrels of estimated recoverable oil shale reserves are about equal to the declining declin-ing world-wide reserves of natural crude oil. Jones said the Paraho Oil Shale Demonstration achieved achiev-ed breakthroughs in many areas, including a significant reduction in the water required requir-ed and improved methods for the disposition of retorted shale. "The Paraho retort uses no water in production of crude shale oil and gas," he emphasized, empha-sized, "and needs only one-third one-third the water reported by others for the production of a high grade synthetic shale oil and disposal of retorted shale in an environmentally acceptable manner. "Three variations of the process were tested and all produced high thermal efficiencies effi-ciencies and net yields of crude shale oil of 92 - 95 per cent (based on Fischer Assay) plus usable product gas and the equipment proved highly operable and durable," Jones said. The Paraho tests were conducted con-ducted on a pilot retort, yielding 20 barrels per day and a 200 barrel per day semi-works retort. The program pro-gram ran from September, 1973 through August, 1976. The final report projected that crude shale oil of pipeline quality can be produced in a nominal 100,000 barrel per day plant for $11.50 a barrel compared to $13 - $15 per barrel for importer crude. However, under existing regulations reg-ulations shale oil would not be able to compete. Capital investment in-vestment would be $1.2 billion in 1976 dollars. A high quality, low nitrogen and sulfur syn thetic crude oil could be produced in a similar plant at the rate of 88,500 barrels per day for $17.50 per barrel. Capital investment would be $1.6 billion. "If this country's dependence depend-ence on imported oil is to be reduced," Pforzheimer said, "it is essential that the next step of building and demon-, strating a full-size Paraho retort be taken as soon as possible. The module will improve the accuracy of capital capi-tal and operating cost predictions, predic-tions, increasing investor confidence, con-fidence, and will measure the environmental and socioeconomic socio-economic impact of commercial commer-cial plants, providing planning information. After the module and, assuming a reduction in the present governmental restraints re-straints to domestic energy development, a commercial shale oil industry can begin to contribute to the nation's energy needs." Pforzheimer said the estimated estima-ted cost of building a full-size Paraho module is $65 million. 'Test data indicates no major problems are anticipated in the scale-up from the semi-works semi-works retort," he added. "Because the module is a developmental project it will require joint government and industry support," he said, "but its indicated success will pave the way for a viable shale oil industry." Pforzheimer envisioned that such an industry could develop into a 500,000 barrel per day operation by the year 2000 and reach an eventual output of up to 6,000,000 barrels per day in the years beyond. He pointed out that Para-ho's Para-ho's environmentally acceptable accept-able method of above-ground disposal of retorted shale makes possible secondary recovery re-covery of shale oil and gas from mined areas by modified in-situ methods. This will improve the over-all resource recovery. The nation's military forces, and particularly the Navy, have satisfactorily tested fuels refined from 10,000 barrels bar-rels of shale oil produced by the Paraho program, Pforzheimer Pforz-heimer said. The Navy recently recent-ly signed agreements with Paraho to initiate the production produc-tion of an additional 100,000 barrels of Paraho shale oil to be refined by others into military fuels for further testing. test-ing. "We are indebted to the Navy for its initiative, concern con-cern and objectivity regarding regard-ing the eventual development of a shale oil industry," he said. |
