Oil shale industry

Oil shale industry is an industry of mining and processing of oil shale—a fine-grained sedimentary rock, containing significant amounts of kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds), from which liquid hydrocarbons can be manufactured. The industry has developed in Brazil, China, Estonia and to some extent in Germany and Russia. Several other countries are currently conducting research on their oil shale reserves and production methods to improve efficiency and recovery. However, Australia has halted their pilot projects due to environmental concerns. Estonia accounted for about 70% of the world's oil shale production in a study published in 2005.

Oil shale has been used for industrial purposes since the early 17th century, when it was mined for its minerals. Since the late 19th century, shale oil has also been used for its oil content and as a low grade fuel for power generation. However, barring countries having significant oil shale deposits, its use for power generation is not particularly widespread. Similarly, oil shale is a source for production of synthetic crude oil and it is seen as a solution towards increasing domestic production of oil in countries that are reliant on imports.

Oil shale has been used since ancient times. Modern industrial oil shale mining began in 1837 at the Autun mines in France, followed by Britain, Germany and several other countries. The oil shale industry started growing just before World War I because of the mass production of automobiles and trucks and the supposed shortage of gasoline for transportation needs. In 1924, the Tallinn Power Plant was the first power plant in the world to switch to oil shale firing.

Following the end of World War II, the oil shale industry declined due to the discovery of large supplies of easily accessible and cheaper crude oil. Oil shale production however, continued to grow in Estonia, Russia and China.

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