American Shale Oil
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Oil shale industry |
| Predecessor(s) | EGL Oil Shale |
| Headquarters | Rifle, Colorado, United States |
| Key people | Claude Pupkin (CEO) Howard Jonas (CEO, Parent Company), Alan Burnham (Chief Technology Officer) |
| Owner(s) | Genie Oil & Gas Total S.A. |
| Website | www.amso.net |
The American Shale Oil, LLC (AMSO), formerly known as EGL Oil Shale, LLC, is a developer of in-situ shale oil extraction technology. It is owned 50% each by Genie Oil and Gas, an affiliate of IDT Corporation, and Total S.A..[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
EGL Oil Shale was established as a subsidiary of EGL Resources, a privately owned independent oil and gas company with operations in the southwestern United States. In 2006, it was awarded a lease by the United States Bureau of Land Management to develop and demonstrate its in-situ oil shale extraction technology in Western Colorado. On 22 January 2008 IDT Corporation and EGL Resources signed an agreement, according to which IDT acquired 75% of EGL Oil Shale and renamed it AMSO, LLC. AMSO was formed on 15 February 2008.[2][3] Shortly thereafter, IDT bought an additional 15% of AMSO. Subsequently, on 3 March 2009, French oil major Total bought 50% of AMSO's shares for $3.2 million[4], with EGL Resources selling their remainder and IDT[1] retaining 50%. Genie Energy, a subsidiary of IDT, is the operating partner.
[edit] Technology
American Shale Oil is developing a process called "Conduction, Convection, Reflux" (CCR) oil shale conversion. The process combines horizontal wells, which are heated by a downhole burner or other means, and other horizontal or vertical wells, which provide both heat transfer through refluxing of generated oil and a means to collect and produce the oil. The only fluids injected into the formation are recycled fractions of the produced oil in order to optimize the properties of the in-situ oil pool for refluxing. AMSO has proposed that permeability of the formation sufficient for convection will be achieved by thermomechanical fracturing.[5] (The original technology proposed by EGL was based on hydraulic fracturing.[6])
AMSO believes that by heating the rock more quickly than Shell plans to - 3 to 12 months as opposed to several years - the CCR process will consume less energy and require fewer wells.[7] Researchers at Petrochina who reviewed AMSOs proposed technology in 2008 noted that the output of oil and gas could be faster, but felt that the technical complexity and costs of the proposed technology were shortcomings, and also noted that the fluid flow would be difficult to control and easy to "short-circuit." [8]
[edit] Operations
AMSO's operating office is located in Rifle, Colorado. AMSO is also supported by AMSO and Genie staff at the Genie office in Newark, New Jersey.[4][9] According to an SEC filing by IDT in October 2011, AMSO had four full-time employees and fixed assets of US$15,000.[4] The company is leasing a 160 acres (650,000 m2) test tract in the Piceance Basin from the Bureau of Land Management.[10][6]
On October 4 2011, AMSO notified the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety of the need for a Mechanical Integrity Test of its pilot well, due to possible inadequacy of well construction, which could cause contamination of the acquifer overlaying the retort test formation.[11]
[edit] Management
The company's chairman and chief executive officer is Howard Jonas, the founder and chairman of IDT Corporation. The president is Claude Pupkin. The chief technology officer and project manager is Alan K. Burnham[2], and the vice president for operations is Roger L. Day.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Total buys 50 pct stake in AMSO to sell shale oil". Reuters. 2009-01-14. http://uk.reuters.com/article/mnaNewsTechMediaTelco/idUKLE35613420090114. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
- ^ a b "IDT Corporation Introduces Shale Oil Division". Reuters. 2008-02-15. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS155522+15-Feb-2008+BW20080215. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
- ^ "IDT grabs share of shale". Upstream Online (NHST Media Group). 2008-01-22. (subscription required). http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article147487.ece. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
- ^ a b c "Preliminary Information Statement". Genie Energy. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1528356/000121390011004784/f1012gex99i_genieenergy.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- ^ Burnham, Alan K.; Day, Roger L.; Hardy, Michael P.; Wallman, P. Henrik (2009-08-23). "AMSO's novel approach to in-situ oil shale recovery" (PDF). 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering. Montreal, Canada. http://archivos.labcontrol.cl/wcce8/offline/techsched/manuscripts%5Caklexf.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- ^ a b (PDF) Plan of Operation for Oil Shale Research, Development and Demonstration (R,D/D) Tract. E.G.L. Resources, Inc.. 2006-02-15. http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/co/field_offices/white_river_field/oil_shale.Par.62160.File.dat/PlanofOperation.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
- ^ "RD&D Leases. Testing a New Generation of Technology". Center of the American West. http://www.centerwest.org/publications/oilshale/4getitright/1leases.php. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- ^ Fang, Chaohe; Zheng, Dewen; Liu, Dexun (2008-10-13). "Main Problems in Development and Utilization of Oil Shale and Status of In-Situ Conversion in China" (PDF). 28th Oil Shale Symposium. Golden, Colorado: Colorado School of Mines. http://www.ceri-mines.org/documents/28thsymposium/papers08/Paper_20-9_Fang_Chaohe.pdf. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ (PDF) Secure Fuels from Domestic Resources: The Continuing Evolution of America's Oil Shale and Tar Sands Industries (4 ed.). United States Department of Energy. 2010. pp. 14–15. http://www.unconventionalfuels.org/publications/reports/SecureFuelsReport2010.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
- ^ "Innovation in Shale Technology". EGL Shale. 2006-11-16. http://www.egloilshale.com/. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ DRMS letter to AMSO, Oct. 5, 2011
