Oil shales process and the environment

Abstract

There are vast reserves of oil contained in the oil shales of the Americas Brazil, Russia and Eastern Europe but relatively little attention is paid to the energy expended in the mining of these shales and the environmental impacts as compared to the massive discussion on carbon emissions and off-shore oil rig spills. This paper examines academic papers, mining industry news briefs and polemics in order to highlight the environmental consequences of the current relatively loosely controlled shale mining and processing. It will look at the political contexts where mining of the shales could make countries independent of Middle East cartels and, in the case of Russia, a super energy-power with significant reserves of gas as well as oil, while in the case of the USA, it would strengthen the climate change deniers and worsen the chance of it signing up to the Kyoto Protocol. Finally, it will consider the types of prevention policies and remediation strategies which would ameliorate the environmental impacts as against the economic advantages of the full and extended exploitation of the shale resources.