Resources

The Great Basin of the Western United States holds some of the world’s richest deposits of oil shale. The states of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah combined hold approximately 1.5 trillion barrels of in-place resource with 800 billion barrels estimated to be recoverable.

A large percentage of the Green River oil shale resource is quite deep, as much as 1200 feet below the surface, and not amenable to surface mining; however, there are also billions of barrels of resource at the surface with strip ratios that uniquely favor the EcoShale™ In-Capsule Technology. 

Much of the Eastern oil shale in the United States is very lean and deep in comparison to its Western counterpart. In areas of Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Ohio, however, there are sizeable areas where the resource is shallow and likely amenable to the EcoShale™ In-Capsule Technology. Coincidentally, this is also where the resource is the richest, although it contains only half the organic material of Green River shale.

The University of Kentucky has performed substantial research in the past on the Eastern Devonian-Mississippian oil shale resource. Dr. Dyni identifies approximately 423 billion barrels of surface mineable resource that may be economically developable under certain conditions. Again, it is the technology that will enable that development. As with other small and isolated resource deposits, the EcoShale™ In-Capsule Technology holds a great deal of promise in unlocking these resources and making their development economically attractive.