Ikelic - Alliance Digital Repository

STATUS OF OIL SHALE PROJECTS (Underline denotes changes since June 1994)
COMMERCIAL PROJECTS (Continued)
PAMA has been developing a Fast-Heating Retorting Process, using hot recycled ash as the heat carrier. Tests have been
carried out in a 50 kilogram per hour experimental unit. Work has been started on a 6 ton per hour pilot plant, with startup
scheduled for mid-1996.
Project Cost: $30 million for combustion demonstration plant
$8 million for retorting pilot plant
PARACHUTE CREEK - SHALE OIL PROJECT UNOCAL
Corporation (S-160)
In 1920 Unocal began acquiring oil shale properties in the Parachute Creek area of Garfield County, Colorado. The
49,000 acres of oil shale lands Unocal owns contain over three billion barrels of recoverable oil in the high-yield Mahogany
Zone alone. Since the early 1940s, Unocal research scientists and engineers have conducted a wide variety of laboratory and
field studies for developing feasible methods of producing usable oils from shale. In the 1940s, Unocal operated a small 50 ton
per day pilot retort at its Los Angeles, California refinery. From 1955 to 1958, Unocal built and operated an upflow retort at
the Parachute site, processing up to 1,200 tons of ore per day and producing up to 800 barrels of shale oil per day.
Unocal began the permitting process for its Phase I 10,000 barrel per day project in March 1978. All federal, state, and local
permits were received by early 1981. Necessary road work began in the Fall 1980. Construction of a 12,500 ton per day mine
began in January 1981, and construction of the retort started in late 1981. Concurrently, work proceeded on a 10,000 barrels
per day upgrading facility, which would convert the raw shale oil to a high quality syncrude.
Construction concluded and the operations group assumed control of the project in the Fall 1983. After several years of test
operations and resulting modifications, Unocal began shipping upgraded syncrude on December 23, 1986.
In July 1981, the company was awarded a contract under a United States Department of Energy (DOE) program designed to
encourage commercial shale oil production in the United States. The price was to be the market price or a contract floor
price. If the market price is below the DOE contract floor price, indexed for inflation, Unocal would receive a payment from
DOE to equal the difference. The total amount of DOE price supports Unocal could receive was $400 million. Unocal began
billing the U.S. Treasury Department in January, 1987 under its Phase I support contract.
In a 1985 amendment to the DOE Phase I contract, Unocal agreed to explore using fluidized bed combustion (FBC) technol
ogy at its shale plant. In June 1987, Unocal informed the U.S. Treasury Department that it would not proceed with the FBC
technology. A key reason for the decision, the company said, was the unexpectedly high cost of the FBC facility.
In 1989, a new crusher system was installed which produces a smaller and more uniform particle size to the retort. Also, retort
operations were modified and the retorting temperature increased. As a result, production in November and December
reached approximately 7,000 barrels per day.
At year-end 1990, Unocal had shipped over 4.5 million barrels of syncrude from its Parachute Creek Project. Unocal an
nounced the shale project booked its first profitable quarter for the first calendar quarter of 1990. Positive cash flow had been
achieved previously for select monthly periods; however, this quarter's profit was the first sustained period of profitability.
Cost cutting efforts further lowered the breakeven point on operating costs approximately 20 percent.
In 1990, the United States Department of Treasury found no significant environmental, health or safety impacts related to the
operations of Parachute Creek. Monitoring will continue through 1992.
On March 26, 1991, Unocal announced that production operations at the facility would be suspended because of failure to con
sistently reach the financial break-even point. Production ended June 1, 1991 and the project has been terminated.
-
Project Cost: Phase I Approximately $1.2 billion
- PETROSIX Petrobras
(Petroleo Brasileiro, SA.) (S-170)
A 6 foot inside diameter retort, called the demonstration plant, has been in continuous operation since 1984. The plant is used
for optimization of the Petrosix technology. Oil shales from other mines can be processed in this plant to obtain data for the
basic design of new commercial plants.
A Petrosix pilot plant, having an 8 inch inside diameter retort, has been in operation since 1982. The plant is used for oil shale
characterization and retorting tests and developing data for economic evaluation of new commercial plants.
An entrained bed pilot plant has been in operation since 1980. It is used to develop a process for the oil shale fines. The plant
uses a 6 inch inside diameter pipe (reactor) externally heated. Studies at the pilot scale have been concluded.
2-30
SYNTHETIC FUELS REPORT, JANUARY 1995