 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Pearce Bowman (CEO) |
| Products | Shale oil |
| Website | https://web.archive.org/web/20080724010934/http://www.qer.com.au/ |
Queensland Energy Resources Limited (QERL) is an Australian oil shale mining and shale oil extraction company with the headquarters in Brisbane. It is the developer of the Stuart (Yarwun) and McFarlane oil shale projects.
Queensland Energy Resources Limited was formed in February 2004, when it acquired the assets of the Stuart Oil Shale Project from receivers of the project's former developer, Southern Pacific Petroleum N.L. [1] [2] On 21 July 2004, QER announced that the plant would be shut down for economic and environmental reasons. [2] [3] From 2005 to 2007, oil shale from its deposits were tested in a pilot plant facility in Rifle, Colorado owned by Shale Technologies. On 14 August 2008, Queensland Energy Resources announced that it had shunned the Alberta Taciuk Processor (ATP) oil shale processing technology in favor of the Paraho II technology and that the ATP technology-based plant was being dismantled, and obsolete components were being sold. [2] On 24 August 2008, the Queensland Government announced an oil-shale mining moratorium over the company-owned McFarlane deposit for 20 years. [4]
On 10 May 2010, the company announced a plan for construction of a small-scale shale-oil demonstration plant at Yarwun (the site of the Stuart Oil Shale Project). [5] [6] The new plant produced its first oil on 6 October 2011, and began producing high quality ultra-low sulphur diesel and aviation fuel in September 2012. In February 2013, following a four-year industry review including a full environmental audit of QER's operations, the Queensland Government announced that it would allow the development of a commercial oil shale industry in Queensland under strict environmental conditions. The Government's oil shale policy sets vigorous environmental controls on the industry and allows existing oil shale operator, QER Ltd, to progress the demonstration plant at Gladstone to commercial stage. QER has now successfully completed the demonstration plant program, and is seeking investment in the next stage of its industry development, a commercial facility producing around 8,000 barrels per day of finished fuels. [7]
Queensland Energy Resources holds mining tenement rights to several oil shale deposits in Queensland, Australia. Two major resources are Stuart, located at Yarwun, Queensland, and McFarlane, located near Proserpine. The McFarlane oil shale resource, one of Australia's largest, remains under a 20-year mining moratorium. [4] QER operates a visitor's center at the Yarwun site and has completed a successful technology demonstration plant project based on the Paraho II Technology.
Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general composition of oil shales constitutes inorganic substance and bitumens. Based on their deposition environment, oil shales are classified as marine, lacustrine and terrestrial oil shales. Oil shales differ from oil-bearing shales, shale deposits that contain petroleum that is sometimes produced from drilled wells. Examples of oil-bearing shales are the Bakken Formation, Pierre Shale, Niobrara Formation, and Eagle Ford Formation. Accordingly, shale oil produced from oil shale should not be confused with tight oil, which is also frequently called shale oil.
Unconventional oil is petroleum produced or extracted using techniques other than the conventional method. Industry and governments across the globe are investing in unconventional oil sources due to the increasing scarcity of conventional oil reserves. Unconventional oil and gas have already made a dent in international energy linkages by reducing US energy import dependency.
The oil shale industry is an industry of mining and processing of oil shale—a fine-grained sedimentary rock, containing significant amounts of kerogen, 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. Estonia accounted for about 70% of the world's oil shale production in a study published in 2005.
Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil production. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. The resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing sulfur and nitrogen impurities.
Oil shale economics deals with the economic feasibility of oil shale extraction and processing. Although usually oil shale economics is understood as shale oil extraction economics, the wider approach evaluates usage of oil shale as whole, including for the oil-shale-fired power generation and production of by-products during retorting or shale oil upgrading processes.
The Stuart Oil Shale Project is an oil shale development project in Yarwun near Gladstone, Queensland, Australia. It is Australia's first major attempt since the 1950s to restart commercial use of oil shale. The project was originally developed by Australian companies Southern Pacific Petroleum NL and Central Pacific Minerals NL (SPP/CPM) and developed now by Queensland Energy Resources. The original facility built at the end of the 1990s was dismantled and the new demonstration facility started its operations in 2011.
The history of the oil shale industry started in ancient times. The modern industrial use of oil shale for oil extraction dates to the mid-19th century and 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. Between the World Wars oil shale projects were begun in several countries.
Queensland's energy policy is based on the year 2000 document called the Queensland Energy Policy: A Cleaner Energy Strategy. The Queensland Government assists energy development through the Department of Energy and Water Supply. The state is noted for its significant contribution to coal mining in Australia. The primary fuel for electricity generation in the state is coal with coal seam gas becoming a significant fuel source. Queensland has 98% of Australia's reserves of coal seam gas. An expansion of energy-intensive industries such as mining, economic growth and population growth have created increased demand for energy in Queensland.
Ambre Energy Limited is an Australian coal and oil shale company. It has offices in Brisbane and Salt Lake City.
Laguna Resources NL was an Australian mineral exploration and mining company. It explored and developed gold and silver projects in the Maricunga Gold Belt of Northern Chile. It was a developer of the Stuart Oil Shale Project.
The Alberta Taciuk process is an above-ground dry thermal retorting technology for extracting oil from oil sands, oil shale and other organics-bearing materials, including oil contaminated soils, sludges and wastes. The technology is named after its inventor William Taciuk and the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority.
The Paraho process is an above ground retorting technology for shale oil extraction. The name "Paraho" is delivered from the words "para homem", which means in Portuguese "for mankind".
Linc Energy was an Australian energy company that specialised in coal-based synthetic fuel production, as well as conventional oil and gas production. It was engaged in development and commercialisation of proprietary underground coal gasification technology. Produced gas was used for production of synthetic fuel through gas-to-liquid technology, and was also used for power generation. The company had its headquarters in Brisbane, Queensland.
Energy in Australia is the production in Australia of energy and electricity, for consumption or export. Energy policy of Australia describes the politics of Australia as it relates to energy.
The Union process was an above ground shale oil extraction technology for production of shale oil, a type of synthetic crude oil. The process used a vertical retort where heating causes decomposition of oil shale into shale oil, oil shale gas and spent residue. The particularity of this process is that oil shale in the retort moves from the bottom upward to the top, countercurrent to the descending hot gases, by a mechanism known as a rock pump. The process technology was invented by the American oil company Unocal Corporation in late 1940s and was developed through several decades. The largest oil shale retort ever built was the Union B type retort.
The energy sector of Ohio consists of thousands of companies and cities representing the oil, natural gas, coal, solar, wind energy, fuel cell, biofuel, geothermal, hydroelectric, and other related industries. Oil and natural gas accounts for $3.1 billion annually in sales while ethanol generates $750 million. Toledo is a national hub in solar cell manufacturing, and the state has significant production of fuel cells. In 2008, the state led the country in alternative energy manufacturing according to Site Selection Magazine, while the natural gas industry has experienced growth due to the expansion of shale gas.
Oil shale in Israel is widespread but an undeveloped resource, largely because of economic and technological constraints. Israeli oil shales belong to the group of Upper Cretaceous marinite deposits. Although oil-shale deposits may lie under as much as 15% of the country, only a small part of these are mineable. According to the Geological Survey of Israel, deposits that could have the biggest economic potential are located in the northern Negev, the largest being the Rotem-Yamin formation. For several decades, oil shale was used for small-scale power generation at Mishor Rotem. Several Israeli companies have proposed shale oil extraction; testing of the viability of the oil shale industry is currently being undertaken by Israel Energy Initiatives. However, as of 2011, there are no commercial oil shale operations in Israel.
The world's largest producer of uranium is Kazakhstan, which in 2019 produced 43% of the world's mining output. Canada was the next largest producer with a 13% share, followed by Australia with 12%. Uranium has been mined in every continent except Antarctica.
There are oil shale deposits in Australia which range from small deposits to large reserves. Deposits, varying by their age and origin, are located in about a third of eastern Australia. In 2012, the demonstrated oil shale reserves were estimated at 58 billion tonnes. The easiest to recover deposits are located in Queensland.
The history of the oil shale industry in the United States goes back to the 1850s; it dates back farther as a major enterprise than the petroleum industry. But although the United States contains the world's largest known resource of oil shale, the US has not been a significant producer of shale oil since 1861. There were three major past attempts to establish an American oil shale industry: the 1850s; in the years during and after World War I; and in the 1970s and early 1980s. Each time, the oil shale industry failed because of competition from cheaper petroleum.
