The oil shale industry

Preface

To describe an industry which is still in its primary stage is not an easy task. Without definite commercial results to record, without well established processes to describe, and with information on all phases of the subject widely scattered and known only to the particular persons interested, the preparation of the present volume has been difficult. However, the recent striking demand in industrial life for oil in its many forms, the failure of domestic wells to meet this demand in full, the rapid advance in the price of petroleum, the warning of geologists and government experts that the underground supply of oil cannot much longer be depended upon to supply the ever increasing demand, all unite in pointing unerringly to the one permanent supply of the raw material which we have — the deposits of oil shale. Whether we wish it to be so or not, we shall soon be forced to resort to the oil shales for our supply of oil. Regardless of the number and complexity of problems to be solved in establishing the oil shale industry on a commercial basis, yet they must be solved, and it remains for the American mining engineer, chemist, and inventor to provide the solution, else our boasted industrial life will vi PEEFACE

vanish. The successful retorting of oil from shale and the establishment of the oil shale industry on a permanent and profitable basis is the great problem of this decade. No other phase of our industrial life can compare "with it. The finger of fate points towards it.

Methods of investigation, both in the field and in the laboratory, are far from being standardized. The character of the shale, methods of attack, as well as the skill of the experimenter, all combine to make reports of results vary widely. It is hoped that in the near future the scientific principles underlying the treatment of oil shale will be so well understood and the methods of work so well standardized that a proper comparison of results may be made. In the present state of the industry this is impossible.

In order to meet the widespread demand for information of a comprehensive nature this volume has been prepared as a modest contribution. My thanks are due to the many workers, widely scattered, who have contributed in no small degree to our sum total of information, but especially are my thanks due to Professors Albert H. Low, and Clayton W. Botkin of the Department of Chemistry; and John C. "Williams, Assistant Director of the Department of Metallurgical Eesearch, of the Colorado School of Mines; also to my secretary, Miss Zelda Margaret Moynahan.

Victor C. Aldeeso^.

Contents

PAGE

Peeface v

CHAPTER I The Dawn op a New Industry

The Dawn; Present Condition of Petroleum Industry; Report of the United States Bureau of Mines; Well Production; Status of the Oil Fields; Prices of Crude Oil; New Uses for Petroleum.

CHAPTER II Nature, Origin, and Distribution of Oil Shale 15

Nature; Origin; World-wide Distribution; Scotland; Description of the Scotch Works; Isle of Skye; England ; Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland); France; Australia; Transvaal; Brazil; Sweden; Uintah Basin; Colorado; Nevada; Montana.

CHAPTER III The History of Oil Shale 33

Early Investigations in Scotland; Present Development in the United States; Elko Shale Plant; Catlin Shale Products Company; Colorado: Utah.

viii CONTENTS

PAGE

CHAPTER IV Mining Oil Shale 46

Methods; Breaking; Mining Regulations; Testing Oil Shale Ground; Leasing Oil Shale Ground.

Chapter V

Nature of Shale Oil or Petroleum; Importance of the Retort; Chemical Principles; Destructive Distillation of Oil Shale; Fundamental Requirements for a Retort (Scientific, Economic); Scotch and American Shales Compared; Pumpherston (Scotch) Retort; Condenser; Ammonia Scrubber Plant; Gasoline Absorption Plant; Ammonia Liquor — Sulphate of Ammonia Plant; Gas (Analysis of), (Heat Value Produced); Gasoline; Complete Plant.

CHAPTER VI Experimental and Research Work .... 81

Need of Experimental Work; Experimental Work of J. B. Jones; Tests of Dragon, Utah Shales; United States Geological Survey (Field Distillation, Summary of Tests, Dry and Steam Distillation); Colorado School of Mines (Method of Analysis, Tests, General Investigations, Chemical Investigations) ; Black Shales of the Eastern States; Refining Tests; De-polymerization.

Chapter VII

Investment Value and Income; Shale Oil and Well Oil per Square Mile; Value of Oil Shale Land; Location of Oil Shale Claims; Scotch Dividends; Cost of Mining, Retorting, and Refining; Shale Oil Versus Well Oil; Economic Conditions; Capital.

CONTENTS ix

Chapter VIII Page

. . 130

Significant Features.

Chapter IX . . 139

Franklin K. Lane; Van. H. Manning; George Otis Smith; Chester G. Gilbert; Joseph E. Pogue; Dorsey Hager; Guy Elliott Mitchell; Dean E. Winchester; Walter Clark Teagle; M. L. Requa.

Chapter X

Future; Possibilities of the Oil Shale Industry; Oil Shale Comes into Its Own; An Acute Situation; Foreign Supply; Fundamental Characteristics of the Industry.

Index 171

ILLUSTRATIONS

Colorado Oil Shale Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

Oil Shale — General Formation. Colorado . 10

Colorado Oil Shale . . 11

Paper Shale. Colorado 30

Massive Shale. Utah 31

Utah Oil Shale . 38

A Mountain of Oil Shale. Colorado ... 39

Oil Shale. Utah 46

Massive Shale. Colorado 47

Oil Shale Cliff. Utah . 64

Oil Shale. Colorado 65

Mount Logan. Colorado 94

Apparatus for Oil Shale Analysis, Oil Shale

Laboratory. Colorado School of Mines.

Golden, Colorado 95

Oil Shale. Utah 120

A Mountain of Oil Shale. Colorado . . . 121

XI

THE OIL SHALE INDUSTRY

Chapter I The Dawn Of A New Industry

Recent years have been filled with stirring and far-reaching events, world wide in their effect, not the least of which has been the birth of a new industry, with a potential supply of raw material that almost defies mathematical computation and staggers the imagination. Can oil wells produce enough petroleum to meet the enormous demand now existing for oil and its products'? The answer is doubtful. Will new oil fields be discovered to meet the increased demand in the future? The answer is extremely doubtful. Yet this is the age of oil. Oil we must have. The future supply must come from our great deposits of oil shale. If oil is the "king" then oil shale is the "heir apparent.' '

From 1857 the total of the world production of petroleum was 6,996,674,563 barrels; of this, the United States produced 4,252,644,- The Present 003 barrels. There are now approxi- Condition mately 250,000 producing oil wells in ^^ the United States. The average yield Industry is only four and a half barrels a day. Among the

l great producers is the Burkburnett pool in Texas that has produced more than 7,000,000 barrels of oil and the Ranger pool that has produced more than 12,000,000 barrels. The average output in Wyoming is 40 barrels a well per day. The low average for the whole country of only four and a half barrels a day is caused by thousands of wells in the older fields that produce less than a quarter of a barrel a day. Of the total number of wells in the United States four-fifths do not yield more than a barrel of oil daily.

The United States Bureau of Mines recently made a report to the Secretary of the Treasury on

the subject in which it said: Uriedsltel ' ' The United States Geological Sur-

Bureau of vey makes the pessimistic report that Mines -. -. £ ,

our underground reserves are forty

per cent exhausted and that we probably are near the peak of domestic production. The consumption of petroleum is increasing far more rapidly than domestic production. During 1918, 39,000,000 barrels of oil were imported from foreign countries and 27,000,000 barrels were withdrawn from stocks.

"Our future supply of petroleum must be conserved, and it is therefore imperative that the United States make every possible effort to further more efficient conservation of our underground reserves of oil and the more efficient utilization of petroleum and its products, because :

1 i First. Petroleum has become the fundamental basis of the industrial and military life of the nation in that gasoline has become the motive power for six million automobiles and trucks, for airplanes, farm tractors, and motor boats. Fuel oil has become necessary for our navy, our merchant marine, and larger industrial plants. Lubricating oil is essential for machinery of all kinds and without it not a wheel would turn.

"Second. The potential supplies of crude oil outside of the United States are passing almost entirely into the political and economical control of foreign governments, and the United States is likely to pass from the position of dominance into a position of dependence.

"Third. Investigations of the Bureau of Mines, of the Fuel Administration, and of other bodies have disclosed that the known oil reserves of the United States are not receiving adequate protection, and are being wasted through inefficient methods in production, refining, and utilization of the oil.' '

The report says the Fuel Administration has made an investigation which shows that in 1917 in the exploitation of petroleum and natural gas in the United States the total waste in oil and gas amounted to $2,000,000,000, and continues :

"The need for petroleum reaches every citizen in the United States. The number of automobiles is increasing at the rate of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 a year. Through pleasure cars, trucks, and farm tractors, every family in the United States is virtually interested in gasoline.

"Through lubricating oils every person in the United States has a direct interest. Lubricating oils are one of the three essentials of modern civilization and in equal importance to steel and coal, for without lubricating oils no machinery would be possible.

"The supply of fuel oil is, in the opinion of marine engineers, the strategic point for our merchant marine and in the development of any modern navy."

The uncertainty of dependence upon new wells to supply the increased demand for oil is well illustrated by the compilation of the Boston News Bureau of January 27, 1920, viz. :

Producing wells completed in the oil fields east of the Rocky Mountains in 1919 averaged 65 barrels daily output a well, initial flow. Production -^is compares with 90 barrels a well for 1918. Out of the 28,462 wells drilled in 1919, 5,951, or 21 per cent, were dry. North Louisiana wells, brought in in 1919, averaged 887 barrels daily production, North Texas 595, and Gulf Coast 432.5 barrels. Producing wells brought in in the Pennsylvania fields averaged the smallest of any division — 10.5 barrels a well. Gulf Coast fields showed the largest number of dry holes, comparatively, as 561 out of 1,236 completions, or 45 per cent, were dry. Kentucky-Tennessee completions, numbering

3,716 for the year, showed only 421, or 11 per cent dry holes. The following shows the number of completions, dry holes, and initial daily output per well, in oil districts east of the Rockies during 1919:

Completions

Dry holes

Average initial

No.

daily production of bbls. per well

Pennsylvania

Lima-Indiana

Central Ohio

5,178

3,716

3,432

8,196

3,564

1,236

5,941

10.5

Kentucky-Tennessee . .

Illinois

Kansas

Oklahoma

93.5

North Texas

North Louisiana

Gulf Coast

887 432 5

Wyoming

Total

28,473

The average initial daily output of completions in the Pennsylvania fields, amounting to 10.5 barrels a well, is more than twice the average output of 4.5 barrels a well for the 225,000 producing wells in the United States. In the oil shale industry, the raw material for oil shale is absolutely certain and virtually inexhaustible, but the underground supply of petroleum is always an uncertain quantity and sooner or later is exhausted. For these reasons it is imperative that the United States take every step possible toward oonserv-

OIL SHALE INDUSTKY ing its known reserves of oil. Petroleum and natural gas are not being replaced by nature and, once gone, cannot be replaced.

Many significant figures could be given, but a few will suffice.

Total number of registered automobiles in the U. S.

1914 1,700,000

1918 6,146,000

Production of Gasoline in the U. S.

Increase in automobiles, 260 per cent; in production of gasoline, 145 per cent. It is predicted that 2,000,000 automobiles will be made in 1920.

Statistics furnished by the United States Geological Survey give the following interesting comparisons :

Amount of Crude Oil in Storage

Amount of Crude Oil Marketed

Thus, during these four years the amount marketed increased from 281 to 345 million barrels; the reserve supply — that held in storage — decreased from 194 to 132 million barrels. From a production of 33 million barrels in 1891, the Pennsylvania fields have declined to 7,400,000 barrels in 1918. This gives the key to the oil situation. Oil pools are merely reservoirs certain to become exhausted in the course of a few years.

Examining the condition of the refining of oil we find that from January to September, 1918, the refineries consumed 182,000,000 barrels. During the same period the production was only 170,000,- 000 barrels. To meet this loss 12,000,000 barrels had to be drawn from storage, or more than a million barrels a month.

The enormous extent of the oil industry, the widespread demand for oil, and its influence upon industrial life may be seen from a glance at the following tables from the Wall Street Journal:

Crude Oil Production and Consumption in the United States

Excess of

Year

Consumption

Production

Consumption over Production

The production for 1919 was 366,255,611 barrels, an increase of 26 millions over 1918, but the consumption has reached an estimated figure of 436,- 000,000 barrels or an excess of consumption over production of 70 million barrels, compared with an excess of 56 million barrels in 1918, 51 million in 1917, and only 20 million in 1916. The estimated production for 1920 is 400 million barrels and this is regarded as the peak of production.

Imposts from Mexico

U. S. Production by Fields

Estimated Available Oil in Ground (Nov., 1919)

Ni

Mid-Continent

Gulf

Rocky Mountain

Other Fields

1 Including Wyoming and Rocky Mountain.

Production by Products in 1918

Gasoline 85,000,000 bbl.

Kerosene 43,400,000 bbl.

Gas and Fuel Oil 174,300,000 bbl.

Lubricants 20,000,000 bbl.

Other products . . 30,600,000 bbl.

The Appalachian field is the oldest in the United

States. Oil was first found by Col. Drake at Titus-

ville, Pennsylvania, in 1859. Until

Oil Produc- 1885 Pennsylvania produced virtually

ing Fields the entire 01ltput of the country or

98.50 per cent. The maximum output occurred in

75.000.000

~ 50000.000

i i

PRODUCTION .

f

OF i

PETROLEUM :

IN THE

" UNITED STATES '

\ BY FIELDS - i i j

V fr/ gf

* i y d

•C u i r

*

U v v

\ 1 v

Q * i -

\v jj

-

•

IYX.

■ i

**

< c

1900 — 36 million barrels. Since that time the output has decreased to 25,401,000 barrels in 1918.

The Lima-Indiana field has been a producer since 1884. The output was greatest in 1904, 24,689,184 barrels. This has decreased to 3,211,- 000 barrels in 1918.

The Illinois field became a producer in 1905. The maximum production was reached in 1908 — 33,686,000 barrels. This has declined to 13,366,000 barrels in 1918.

The Mid-Continent field became an important producer in 1904 and has increased its output steadily to 179,383,000 barrels in 1918. It is estimated, however, that for 1919 the production has dropped to 115,000,000 barrels.

The North Texas field became important in 1911. The production in 1918 was 17,280,612 barrels ; this has been increased to 67,419,000 barrels in 1919.

The Gulf field became important in 1901. The maximum output was reached in 1905 — 36,526,- 323 barrels ; this fell to 24,208,000 in 1918.

The Eocky Mountain field, before 1912, produced less than one million barrels a year, but this amount has increased to 12,809,000 barrels in 1918; the peak of production has not yet been reached.

In the California field the maximum production was reached in 1914—100,000,000 barrels ; in 1918 it fell to 97,532,000 barrels.

To generalize: the Appalachian, Lima-Indiana,

COLORADO OIL SHALE and Illinois fields have passed their peak of production; the Gulf, California and Mid-Continent have just about reached their peak ; North Louisiana, North Texas, and the Rocky Mountain fields have not reached their peak and largely increased production may be expected.

The advance in the price of crude oil is likewise suggestive :

Current Price July, 1920

Low Price in 1915

Pennsylvania

$6.10

$1.35

Corning

.83

Cabell

.97

Somerset

.80

Ragland

.63

North Lima

.93

South Lima

.88

Princeton

Indiana

.89

.83

Illinois

.89

Kansas-Oklahoma

Healdton

.40 .30

Caddo, heavv

.35

Canada

1.28

Fuel oil is variously quoted, according to the section of the country in which it is sold, but in general it may be said that current prices are from 30 to 50 per cent above those of January 1, 1919, and from 100 to 300 per cent and more above the lows of 1914. Refined products as yet have not displayed the same strong tendency io advance as noted in crude, but that is natural in view of the fact that the refined output is being forced to capacity in every plant. Practically all refined products are at the highest price levels in their history, with an extremely firm undertone. There is likely to be a sudden and sharp increase in prices for all refined products, according to the best opinion, for the greatest demand ever known is in prospect. Inasmuch as high prices result in more active drilling operation, oil companies are preparing to make 1920 a year of banner production, so that the peak of well petroleum will very likely be reached, but thereafter a steady decline will probably ensue.

Besides the common uses of petroleum, known to every one, the following new uses will form increased demands :

1. Airplanes. Since the close of the war and

the abandonment of the airplane for war work,

industrial uses are open for it. Al- New Uses \ . .

for Petro- ready aerial mail service is m force;

leum next will be light express service, and

then passenger service. Soon the planes will be

almost as common in the air as birds and rapid

transportation will be revolutionized.

2. Motor trucks. Between the large centers of population and the surrounding towns, as well as from the smaller distributing centers, the auto truck has begun to displace railroad freight service in the branch and short haul. The four handlings of the freight service is reduced to two. To this is the added advantage of frequent direct service.

In 1904 only 411 motor trucks of a total wholesale value of $946,947 were manufactured. In 1919, 305,142 motor trucks were manufactured, of a total value of $408,311,585.

3. Tractors. Tractors for farm use form the next step in farm improvement. Their advantage is very great and their increased use unquestioned.

4. Oil burning steamers. The use of petroleum as fuel in steamers is rapidly increasing. A ton of oil occupies five cubic feet less space than a ton of coal and gives eighty per cent steaming efficiency as compared with sixty-five per cent for coal. The increased cargo room available, when oil is used, with the certainty of enhanced financial returns from freight, makes the use of oil on all classes of steamers in the near future a foregone conclusion.

5. Oil for road use. The cheaper grade of oil and residues form an excellent material for roadmaking. Its use in California is an object lesson to every automobilist in that State.

In passing judgment upon the condition of the oil industry as a whole, one must not be blinded by the enormous production of gushers, nor be made unduly pessimistic over the low average yield of the quarter of a million wells in the United States. A common sense view seems to be that first, our supply of petroleum from wells is not meeting the country-wide demand and that the limit of production is approaching; second, the supply of petroleum from wells can be maintained

14 OIL SHALE INDUSTKY

only by the discovery of new extensive pools; third, there is little likelihood that new pools like the Mid-Continental, or California, will be discovered because the entire country has already been explored ; fourth, that the only great national reservoir that can be absolutely depended upon to supply oil is our enormous deposits of shale. This will undoubtedly be the source of our oil supply for the future. In the words of George Otis Smith, Director of the United States Geological Survey, the oil situation in the United States is "pre-

Chapter II Nature, Origin, And Distribution Of Oil

SHALE

Oil shale virtually contains no oil as such. It is a consolidated mud or clay deposit from which petroleum is obtained by distillation. In appearance, the shale is black, or brownish-black, but on weathered surfaces it is white or gray. It is usually fine grained, with some lime and occasionally sand. It is tough but, in thin sections, friable. When broken to a fresh surface it may give an odor like petroleum. Thin rich pieces burn with a sooty flame. E. H. Cunningham-Craig defines it as follows : Oil shale is an argillaceous or shaly deposit from which petroleum may be obtained by distillation but not by trituration or treatment by solvents. Oil shale must be carefully distinguished from oil sand. In the oil sand, the oil is contained in the sand as oil. When the sand is penetrated by a well the oil gushes out or is pumped out. In the oil shale there is no oil as such, but only the uncooked ingredients of oil. When the shale is subjected to destructive distillation, i. e., heated in a closed vessel, or cooked, shale oil results as a manufactured product.

Oil shale may also be regarded as an unfinished oil field and is one of a long list of natural de- . posits which result from the decom-

position of organic matter from plants or animals of a former geologic era — like anthracite, bituminous, and brown coal ; peat, petroleum, and asphaltum. Beds of oil shale were laid down in lakes, lagoons, or wide expanses of quiet water. They contain a large amount of organic matter — low plant forms of life like algae ; also pollen, fish scales, insects, and remains of animal and vegetable life sometimes changed beyond recognition, although 277 species of insects have been recognized.

Oil shale is found in Colorado, Kentucky, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, Pennsylvania, Nevada,, Montana, West Virginia, and California. Sst'ribmion In Canada it is found in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. In Scotland, near Edinburgh and on the Isle of Skye. In France, at Autun, Buxiere les Mines and in the Riviera. In South Africa, in the Transvaal, Mozambique, and Natal. Also in New South Wales, New Zealand, Tasmania, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Austria-Hungary, Serbia, and Turkey. In England it occurs in Norfolk.

The oil shale beds of Scotland occur within a small area, twenty miles in diameter, in the counties of West Lothian, Mid Lothian, and Lanarkshire. The center of the district is fourteen miles west of Edinburgh. The shale beds are simply a very fine impalpable clay shale, brown to black in color, free from silica, easily cut with a sharp knife, and in form are plain or curly. The beds vary greatly in thickness ; it is not uncommon to find a seam pinch out altogether, but another seam, above or below it, increases in thickness and richness as the first deteriorates. Faults, folds, and igneous intrusions are not uncommon. Mining is done entirely through shafts. "Kerogen" is the Scotch term given to the complex organic compounds in the shale which produce petroleum. The richer shales yield from 30 to 40 gallons of oil to the ton of shale. The lower grade shale that yields only from 15 to 18 gallons gives from 60 to 70 pounds of ammonium sulphate. That is, the shale that runs high in oil runs low in ammonium sulphate; the shale that is low in oil is high in ammonium sulphate. In the earlier days of the industry the shales that were worked produced more crude oil than the shales of to-day. Notably the Torbane Hill material gave from 96 to 130 gallons of crude oil a ton. At the present time the production seldom exceeds 30 gallons a ton, and shale yielding only 15 gallons is successfully treated. The explanation of this lies in the fact that crude oil is not the only product of value that may be obtained. The ammonium sulphate is also valuable. If this is obtained in large quantity, as in the case of shale now being treated, the total result in crude oil, plus ammonium sulphate, may be economically profitable. The following series of products are secured from the Scotch shales :

1. Permanent gases used for fuel under retorts.

2. Naphtha, gasoline, and motor spirits.

3. Burning or lamp oil.

4. Intermediate oil used for gas-making.

5. Lubricating oil.

6. Solid paraffin.

7. Still grease.

8. Still coke, which contains some oil and is used for gas, smokeless fuel, and carbon for electrical purposes.

9. Ammonium sulphate.

10. Liquid fuel used in the refineries.

The Scottish seams of oil shale that have been worked, at various times, have given approximately the results shown in table on page 19.

The present output of shale is approximately 3,500,000 tons annually, valued at $15,000,000.00. In the various parts of the industry 12,500 men are now employed.

The refineries are now producing from the oil shale approximately :

Burning oils 20,000,000 gallons

Naphtha 5,000,000 gallons

Lubricating oils 22,000,000 gallons

Paraffin wax ,. 25,000 tons

Sulphate of ammonia 54,000 tons

Name

Torbane Hill

Levenseat

Raeburn

Addiewell

(Not much worked) Fells

(The principal shale of the West Calder District. Extensively worked)

Oakbank Shale —

Wee

Big

Wild

Curly

Lower Wild

New

Dunnet

(Extensively worked) Barracks

Thickness

Broxburn Shale- Broxburn gray. . .

Broxburn curly

Broxburn seam

PUMPIIERSTON SEAMS-

Jubilee

Maybrick

Curly

Plain

Wee

Mungle

(Not much worked)

Gal. of Crude Oil, Long Tons ft.

6 in.

m

4 ft 6 ft 6 ft

6 in. 6 in.

8 ft.

6 ft.

8 ft.

5 ft.

6 ft.

7 ft. 4 ft. 2 ft.

96-130

40-55

26-40

29^

24-33

18-22

20-33 19-33 10-51

18 16 20 20 18 35

Ammonium

Sulphate lb.

Long Tons

14 13-18

20-35

34-41 35

14-34

34-41

11-38

7-40

52-67

D. R. Steuart in " Economic Geology/' Vol. 3, 1908, p. 574, describes briefly the equipment as f ol- ~ . .. lows : "In a Scotch oil works there are

Description

of the Scotch the great benches of shale retorts sometimes more than 60 feet high, with the great stacks of numerous series of 3-inch pipes, 30 to 40 feet high, for air condensers. There is the three-story-high sulphate of ammonia house, with its high column-stills, the acid saturators for the ammonia, vacuum or other evaporator for the sulphate from the recovered sulphuric acid of the refinery, centrifugal driers, storage and grinding mills. In the refining departments the stills are small and, on account of the repeated distillations, very numerous ; the washers for vitriol and soda are many; there are coolers, refrigerators, filter and hydraulic plate presses for the separation or" the heavy oil and solid paraffin; great sweating houses for the paraffin refining; candle works; sulphuric acid plants; acid recovery plant; engineer's, joiner's, and plumber's shops — a very large and varied collection of apparatus covering much ground, so that for a comparatively small production there is a very large and expensive plant. A conspicuous feature of the works is the great hills of spent shale. ' '

In 1913 oil shale was discovered on the Isle of Skye. It is fine grained, brown in color, fossilif-

erous, tough, and resists disintegra- Isle of Skye , . ' & , ' . . , , , ,

tion by weathering. At the outcrops

it is from seven to ten feet in thickness. Two

samples from the outcrops gave :

Crude oil

gallons a

ton

12 12

Ammonium sulphate, Pounds a ton

6.2

7.4

England

It is not now of commercial importance.

The oil shale deposits of England cover an area of one hundred square miles in Norfolk, a few miles from the port of King's Lynn on The Wash. It is entirely controlled by the English Oilfields, Ltd., capital $1,- 500,000. Enough test holes have been sunk to determine accurately the depth, character, and extent of the oil shale seams. Holes to a depth of 300 feet show seams of shale aggregating 150 feet. The thinnest is four feet in thickness. The seam which is now being mined at West Winch is 14 feet thick. These deposits, virtually flat, are noteworthy for regularity of strata, thickness of the beds, uniformity of dip, and persistence of oil value. The seams do not vary in dip more than two or three inches in a distance of ten or twenty miles. The whole formation must have been laid down over a wide lake area and the deposition must have been very slow and regular. The limits of the deposit have been accurately defined by borings. It is safe to say that the English Oilfields, Ltd. — the controlling company — has title to the entire deposit. Complete equipment is installed for mining and retorting 1,000 tons of shale a day. A daily production of 45,000 gallons of oil and 70,000 pounds of ammonium sulphate is expected. The retorts are especially designed, after repeated experiments, for the shale to be treated, and are distinctly different from the Scotch type. The shale gives from 50 to 60 gallons of shale oil to the ton. A refining plant treats the crude shale oil as it comes directly from the distilling plant, so that the mining, retorting, and refining are virtually conducted in one general plant. The oil resulting from the Norfolk shale is distinctly different from the Scotch oil. The Norfolk crude is of a light nature, produces a long range of lubricants, 60 to 70 pounds of ammonium sulphate to the ton, and 15 per cent of paraffin wax. The discovery and commercial development of this Norfolk oil shale deposit, in the opinion of English experts, is not only of national importance, but marks an era in the industrial history of England comparable with the discovery and development of her coal deposits.