The production of oil from shales has a potentially serious impact on the environment. Four specific areas of concern dominate discussion regarding development of the resource:
greenhouse gas output, water consumption and pollution, surface disturbance, and socioeconomic effects
.
What are the disadvantages of shale oil?
Another environmental disadvantage to extracting shale oil is
the enormous amounts of freshwater required
. Water is necessary for drilling, mining, refining, and generating power. Some experts estimate that three litres (. 8 gallon) of water are required to produce just one litre (.
What are the pros and cons of oil shale?
- More flexible.
- Increased productivity.
- Reduced oil and gas prices.
Why is shale oil bad?
Surface mining of oil shale deposits causes the
usual environmental impacts of open-pit mining
. In addition, the combustion and thermal processing generate waste material, which must be disposed of, and harmful atmospheric emissions, including carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas.
What environmental impacts does shale oil have?
The oil shale industry, including oil shale mining, crushing, sieving, retorting, combustion, and oil upgrading, will cause environmental pollution, such as:
wastewater from mining, retorting, upgrading, ash moisturing, etc.
; dust produced from mining, crushing, sieving, retorting, and combustion; oil sludge, shale ash …
Is shale oil better than crude oil?
Shale oil is
a substitute for conventional crude oil
; however, extracting shale oil is more costly than the production of conventional crude oil both financially and in terms of its environmental impact. Deposits of oil shale occur around the world, including major deposits in the United States.
What is the dirtiest oil?
The world's dirtiest oil is
the Brass crude blend from Nigeria
, where uncontrolled release of methane during the oil extraction process generates upstream GHG emissions more than four times higher than Canadian diluted bitumen.
Is shale oil a crude oil?
Shale oil can, in fact, refer to two types of oil:
crude oil that is found within shale formations
or oil that is extracted from oil shale.
Why is shale oil expensive?
Shale oil drilling and extraction are
far more labor-intensive than conventional oil extraction
, making the process necessarily pricier.
Which country produces the most shale oil?
First,
The United States
is by far the most dominant producer of both shale gas and tight oil. Canada is the only country of both shale gas and tight oil producer. On the other hand, China is the only other country to produce only shale gas. On the other hand, Argentina is the only other country to produce shale oil.
What is the difference between shale oil and oil shale?
Oil shale is different than shale oil in that oil shale is essentially rock that contains a compound called
kerogen
, which is used to make oil. Shale oil refers to hydrocarbons that are trapped in formations of shale rock.
What is shale good for?
Shale is commercially important. It is used to
make brick, pottery, tile, and Portland cement
. Natural gas and petroleum may be extracted from oil shale.
Where is shale oil found in the US?
The United States has significant oil shale resources, primarily within the
Green River Formation in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado
. These oil shale resources underlie a total area of 16,000 square miles and represent the largest known concentration of oil shale in the world.
Is shale good for the environment?
As methane is more than 20 times as powerful a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide, shale gas
is likely to prove more harmful in climate change terms
than even coal, which is usually regarded as the dirtiest fossil fuel.
Is oil shale renewable or nonrenewable?
Oil is a
non-renewable energy resource
. It is the world's primary fuel source for transportation. Most oil is pumped out of underground reservoirs, but it can also be found embedded in shale and tar sands.
How is oil shale formed?
Oil shale was formed
from sediments laid down in ancient lakes, seas, and small terrestrial water bodies such as bogs and lagoons
. Oil shales deposited in large lake basins, particularly those of tectonic origin, are commonly of considerable thickness in parts.
