In the early 1980s, industry and government took a hard look at the economics of extracting oil from vast deposits of shale that lie beneath the western United States. Oil prices subsided, and interest waned. With oil prices spiking and global demand showing no signs of abating, reexamining the economics of oil shale makes sense. In this report, the authors describe oil shale resources; suitability, cost, and performance of new technologies; and key policy issues that need to be addressed by government decisionmakers in the near future.

Discusses possibility of large oil company monopolization of oil shale development in the Rocky Mountains.

Discusses possibility of large oil company monopolization of oil shale development in the Rocky Mountains.

Annotation The report describes the oil shale resources in the western United States; the suitability, cost, and performance of available technologies for developing the richest of those resources; and the key energy, environmental, land-use, and socioeconomic policy issues that need to be addressed by government decision makers in the near future.