ABSTRACT
Many factors affect both the time period and the scale of an oil shale industry. The principal impediments to developing 300,000 barrels per day oil shale industry by the mid-1980s are economic, technological, and environmental factors and their related socio-economic impacts. The price together with capital availability will remain uncertain. This is particularly so since large investments are required for such high-risk ventures. While modified in-situ technology is close to supporting commercialization, the technology is in the experimental stage. Some of the environmental problems facing commercial oil shale development include air and water pollution, surface and ecological disturbance, disposal of spent shale, reclamation and water availability. Socio-economic impacts include population settlement problems, quality of life degradation, and problems associated with providing municipal and county services. Perhaps the most serious obstacle to development will be the air pollution regulations. Both high natural background emission levels in oil shale areas and uncertain control technology severely limit new development.
