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64-636: The Uinta Basin Rail project is a proposed 100-mile (160 km) rail line to connect the shale oil rich Uinta Basin region of eastern Utah to the national rail network . Numerous proposals have been made, some as far back as 1902, that are still under consideration. The current effort is a public-private partnership between a coalition of 7 counties in Utah, the Rio Grande Pacific Corporation and Drexel Hamilton Infrastructure Partners. The railroad

128-414: A conventional oil refinery . Particulates in the raw oil clog downstream processes; sulfur and nitrogen create air pollution . Sulfur and nitrogen, along with the arsenic and iron that may be present, also destroy the catalysts used in refining. Olefins form insoluble sediments and cause instability. The oxygen within the oil, present at higher levels than in crude oil , lends itself to

192-505: A goal of connecting its namesake cities via the Uinta basin, to take advantage of these resources. While a significant portion of the line in Colorado was built, and still exists today, the company struggled financially and never progressed any closer than Craig, Colorado to the Uinta basin. After this effort failed, almost immediately other efforts began. The only rail line connecting the basin to

256-529: A lawsuit attempting to block construction, claiming the project is primarily to benefit fossil fuel extraction. Some of the funding allocated to the project was instead intended to help diversify the economy of rural Utah away from fossil fuels. The $ 28 million grant by the Utah Community Impact Fund Board was upheld in July 2022 after being challenged. On August 18, 2023, a Federal Appeals Court halted

320-650: A longer route and side canyons to scale the Roan Cliffs, avoiding a landslide area identified as a risk by UDOT, and adjusted routing in parts of the basin for easier land access rights. In September 2020, it was announced that Drexel Hamilton Infrastructure Partners, LP (DHIP) would fund construction for the line and have the exclusive right to develop the line, thus giving the rail project the green light to start construction. The Surface Transportation Board issued their approval in December 2021. In 2022 construction contracts for

384-549: A patent in 1694 to three persons who had "found a way to extract and make great quantities of pitch, tarr and oyle out of a sort of stone." Later sold as Betton's British Oil, the distilled product was said to have been "tried by diverse persons in Aches and Pains with much benefit." Modern shale oil extraction industries were established in France during the 1830s and in Scotland during

448-474: A portion of the line. This resulted in a single cargo train having to be both re-gauged, and multiple locomotive changeovers to reach its destination. All but the last few miles of the line were in Colorado, and the line was more useful to ship goods to Colorado rather than other cities in Utah. The book Utah Ghost Rails documents that through a bureaucratic loophole, the USPS charged in-state rates for shipping between

512-524: A route east through the Indian Canyon from the Union Pacific Railroad 's Central Corridor line near Soldier Summit to Duchesne and Roosevelt in the basin. The right of way would largely follow existing roadways, US Route 191 from the rail main through Indian Canyon to the basin and US Route 40 once inside the basin. There would be two terminals for oil trains at the mid and endpoints of

576-733: A standard gauge connection to the Uinta Basin. In 1915, the Union Pacific Railroad was reported to have dispatched surveying parties to find a route through the area. In early 1916, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad filed a proposal for a line that would eventually extend into the basin, and in May the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad began surveys for a route into the area branching from its line in Provo. In 1920, Simon Bamberger attempted to find financing to build

640-492: A time, by mail. This nearly bankrupted the Utah division of the postal service, forcing them to adjust the shipping zone boundaries and regulations to match the geographical isolation of the Uinta Basin from the rest of Utah. Once modern highways were built into the basin, the line was unable to compete with truck traffic and was abandoned in 1939. Even while the Uintah Railway was in operation, many companies attempted to build

704-627: A total of $ 8.2 million in funding from the state, the Department of Transportation also began work on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the railroad, with planned to complete the document by the end of 2016. Several months after beginning work on the EIS, however, the state decided to end study of the route, citing rising costs identified by closer study. Kevin Van Tassell, a member of

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768-402: A yield of 13%. Petrobras produces in their Petrosix plant 550 tons of oil per day from 6,200 tons of shale, a yield of 9%. The properties of raw shale oil vary depending on the composition of the parent oil shale and the extraction technology used. Like conventional oil, shale oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, and is characterized according to the bulk properties of

832-674: Is also backed by the Ute Tribe who hold a 5% stake in the project. If the rail line is built it will be the first major greenfield rail line built in the United States since the Chicago and North Western ’s line to the Powder River Basin was built in the early 1980s. The Surface Transportation Board approved construction of the line in December 2021, however, the approval is being challenged in court by various environmentalist groups. In 2024,

896-407: Is extracted by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution of oil shale. The pyrolysis of the rock is performed in a retort , situated either above ground or within the rock formation itself. As of 2008, most oil shale industries perform the shale oil extraction process after the rock is mined, crushed and transported to a retorting facility, although several experimental technologies perform

960-463: Is pourable at temperatures between −60 and 30 °C (−76 and 86 °F); this property affects shale oil's ability to be transported in existing oil pipelines . Shale oil contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons , which are carcinogenic . The US EPA has concluded that raw shale oil has a mild carcinogenic potential, comparable to some intermediate petroleum refinery products, while upgraded shale oil has lower carcinogenic potential, as most of

1024-508: The Kiviter process , can be used without further upgrading as an oil constituent and as a source of phenolic compounds . Distillate oils from the Kiviter process can also be used as diluents for petroleum-originated heavy oils and as an adhesive-enhancing additive in bituminous materials such as asphalt. Before World War II , most shale oil was upgraded for use as transport fuels. Afterwards, it

1088-514: The Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear the case Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County , involving the approval to build the rail line. The Uinta basin's oil and mineral resources have long attracted the attention of railroad builders. The Denver, Northwestern and Pacific (DNW&P), later renamed to the Denver and Salt Lake Railway, was a company started in 1902 with

1152-622: The 1840s. The oil was used as fuel, as a lubricant and lamp oil; the Industrial Revolution had created additional demand for lighting. It served as a substitute for the increasingly scarce and expensive whale oil . During the late 19th century, shale-oil extraction plants were built in Australia , Brazil and the United States . China , Estonia , New Zealand , South Africa , Spain , Sweden and Switzerland produced shale oil in

1216-450: The EROEI of oil shales to be 1–2:1 or 2–16:1 – depending on whether self-energy is counted as a cost or internal energy is excluded and only purchased energy is counted as input. Royal Dutch Shell reported an EROEI of three to four in 2006 on its in situ development in the " Mahogany Research Project ." The amount of oil that can be recovered during retorting varies with the oil shale and

1280-581: The Environmental Impact statement on December 13, 2019. Both agencies cited a concern that while the Central Corridor is subject to a trackage rights agreement that allows a number of rail companies access to the line, there is no such agreement in place for the branch to Craig. The Craig alternative required negotiating access agreements with 3 separate track owners, and after months of negotiation, no agreement with any owner had been reached. Two of

1344-742: The LA&;SL tracks through Utah were the approximate boundary between the Pacific Time Zone and the Mountain Time Zone . However, in April 1969, the time zone boundary was moved such that all of Utah was in the Mountain Time Zone. Following standard railroad practice, the LA&SL designated a series of locations along its route as "division points"—bases for the railroad's operational and maintenance activities. Traveling southwestward from Salt Lake,

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1408-489: The Six County Infrastructure Coalition) partnered with Rio Grande Pacific Corporation , a shortline railroad holding company, and identified 29 potential rail corridors, using the earlier UDOT study as a base. In addition to the routes identified by UDOT, this study considered historical routes surveyed a century prior. Their study opined that the line was feasible, and that UDOT had included elements in

1472-552: The UP received a 50% interest in Clark's railroad. Construction of the remaining line proceeded rapidly to Daggett , California, where it connected to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF), and the complete Salt Lake–Los Angeles line was opened on May 1, 1905. In California, Clark negotiated a trackage rights agreement from Daggett to Riverside, California , allowing his new line to use

1536-512: The US produced 7.23 million barrels of such tight oil each day, equal to about 64% of total U.S. crude oil production. The IEA also occasionally calls tight oil "shale oil", but classifies any products from oil shale with solid fuels . Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad ( reporting mark SLR ) was a rail company in California , Nevada , and Utah in

1600-499: The United States Bureau of Land Management called into question proposals for commercial operations in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, stating that "(t)here are no economically viable ways yet known to extract and process oil shale for commercial purposes". The US Energy Information Administration sometimes uses the phrase "shale (tight) oil" to refer to tight oil, "crude oil ... produced directly from tight oil resources". In 2021,

1664-533: The United States, that completed and operated a railway line between its namesake cities ( Salt Lake City , Utah, and Los Angeles , California), via Las Vegas , Nevada . Incorporated in Utah in 1901 as the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad , the line was largely the brainchild of William Andrews Clark , a Montana mining baron and United States Senator. Clark enlisted the help of Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns , mining magnate and newspaper man, to ensure

1728-561: The Whitmore Park alternative as having the least environmental impact, and approved its construction. This alternative is based on the Indian Canyon alternative surveyed by UDOT. The route was modified to include horseshoe curves and spirals to scale higher up the Roan Cliffs and West Tavaputs Plateau, which would allow the length of the tunnel into Indian Canyon to be shortened to 3.1 miles (5.0 km). Other modifications included using

1792-522: The Younger) first described a method of extracting oil from "some kind of bituminous shale". It was also reported to have been used in Switzerland and Austria in the early 14th century. In 1596, the personal physician of Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg wrote of its healing properties. Shale oil was used to light the streets of Modena , Italy at the turn of the 18th century. The British Crown granted

1856-450: The basin and Salt Lake City , assuming a straight line distance to calculate the rate, despite them using the Uintah Railway, and having to route the mail to Colorado first and then back into Utah. This meant it was significantly cheaper to ship by mail than pay the railroad directly. A number of businesses soon discovered this loophole, and when the builders of a bank in the town of Vernal learned this, they shipped 30 tons of bricks, one at

1920-568: The city of Las Vegas began its rapid growth in the mid-twentieth century. The LA&SL was known for its depot buildings, many of which were imposing structures in the Mission Revival architectural style. The largest such depot, at Milford, was razed in 1981 and replaced with a smaller rail office, which remains in use today. The landmark LA&SL stations in Caliente and Kelso survive today. Several smaller Mission Revival depots erected by

1984-603: The design that could be modified or eliminated to cut costs. The coalition initially submitted four routes to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for detailed study and an Environmental Impact Statement. Three of these would connect to the Central Corridor near Soldier Summit and proceed north east towards the basin. The fourth option would extend the former D&SL line from its terminus in Craig. It would use

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2048-504: The early 20th century. The discovery of crude oil in the Middle East during mid-century brought most of these industries to a halt, although Estonia and Northeast China maintained their extraction industries into the early 21st century. In response to rising petroleum prices at the turn of the 21st century, extraction operations have commenced, been explored, or been renewed in the United States, China, Australia and Jordan . Shale oil

2112-576: The end of the century, these and other lines had been absorbed into the Oregon Short Line Railroad , a far larger UP subsidiary. Work on extending the Milford line southward began by 1889, but no tracks were actually laid due to financial issues. Construction resumed in 1899 when the route was completed as far as the Utah–Nevada border. Grading work extended into Nevada, and the UP's stated intent

2176-459: The existing ATSF route over Cajon Pass , in lieu of constructing its own tracks across the pass. On April 16, 1916, the railroad’s stockholders voted to remove "San Pedro" from the corporation's name. The former town of San Pedro had been consolidated within Los Angeles in 1909. The LA&SL operated independently until April 27, 1921, when the UP agreed to acquire Clark's half-interest in

2240-468: The existing Deseret Power Railway for a portion of the journey, and in so doing connect that line to the national rail network as well. The study noted that the Craig alternative traversed the easiest terrain, was the only option to not require constructing tunnels, and overall was one of the lower-cost options. The Craig option required the most new track to be built. The STB announced they had removed this option from consideration while reviewing and preparing

2304-445: The formation of destructive free radicals . Hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation can address these problems and result in a product comparable to benchmark crude oil . Phenols can be first removed by water extraction. Upgrading shale oil into transport fuels requires adjusting hydrogen–carbon ratios by adding hydrogen ( hydrocracking ) or removing carbon ( coking ). Shale oil produced by some technologies, such as

2368-531: The largest reserves in the United States , which is thought to have 1.5–2.6 trillion barrels (240 × 10 ^ –410 × 10 ^  m ). Worldwide production of shale oil was estimated at 17,700 barrels per day (2,810 m /d) in 2008. The leading producers were China (7,600 barrels per day (1,210 m /d)), Estonia (6,300 barrels per day (1,000 m /d)), and Brazil (3,800 barrels per day (600 m /d)). The production of shale oil has been hindered because of technical difficulties and costs. In March 2011,

2432-402: The lighter hydrocarbons used in gasoline. "Pale sulfonated shale oil" (PSSO), a sulfonated and ammonia-neutralized variant named "Ichthammol" (chemical name: Ammonium bituminosulfonate ) is still in application today. Global technically recoverable oil shale reserves have recently been estimated at 2.8 to 3.3 trillion barrels (450 × 10 ^ to 520 × 10 ^  m ) of shale oil, with

2496-562: The oil is trucked to refineries in Salt Lake City. The study identified multiple possible rail corridors, stating before selecting the Indian Canyon alternative, they originally considered a route via Rifle, Colorado , but noted this route is mostly in Colorado, not Utah. The state of Colorado was not assisting in the studies or providing funding. In 2019, the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition (successor agency to

2560-415: The oil shale to the energy used in its mining and processing, a ratio known as "Energy Returned on Energy Invested" ( EROEI ). An EROEI of 2 (or 2:1 ratio) would mean that to produce 2 barrels of actual oil the equivalent in energy of 1 barrel of oil has to be burnt/consumed. A 1984 study estimated the EROEI of the various known oil-shale deposits as varying between 0.7 and 13.3. More recent studies estimates

2624-487: The oil shales in the Green River Formation yield less than 10 US gal/ton. The major global shale oil producers have published their yields for their commercial operations. Fushun Mining Group reports producing 300,000 tons per year of shale oil from 6.6 million tons of shale, a yield of 4.5% by weight. VKG Oil claims to produce 250,000 tons of oil per year from 2 million tons of shale,

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2688-412: The oil using hydrogen donors , solvents , or a combination of these. Thermal dissolution involves the application of solvents at elevated temperatures and pressures, increasing oil output by cracking the dissolved organic matter. Different methods produce shale oil with different properties. A critical measure of the viability of extraction of shale oil lies in the ratio of the energy produced by

2752-528: The oil. It usually contains large quantities of olefinic and aromatic hydrocarbons. It can also contain significant quantities of heteroatoms . A typical shale oil composition includes 0.5–1% of oxygen , 1.5–2% of nitrogen and 0.15–1% of sulfur ; some deposits contain more heteroatoms than others. Mineral particles and metals are often present as well. Generally, the oil is less fluid than crude oil, becoming pourable at temperatures between 24 and 27 °C (75 and 81 °F), while conventional crude oil

2816-408: The polycyclic aromatics are believed to have been broken down by hydrogenation . The World Health Organization classifies shale oil as a Group 1 carcinogen to humans. Although raw shale oil can be immediately burnt as a fuel oil, many of its applications require that it be upgraded. The differing properties of the raw oils call for correspondingly various pre-treatments before it can be sent to

2880-534: The pristine nature of the mountains where construction will take place and concerns cost overruns are likely given the difficult terrain. Both supporters and opponents of this line have noted it could create spillover pressure to reopen the Tennessee Pass Line , dormant since 1997, to avoid a surge in oil trains through the Moffat Tunnel and down into Denver . In December 2020, environmentalist groups filed

2944-488: The process in place ( in-situ ). The temperature at which the kerogen decomposes into usable hydrocarbons varies with the time-scale of the process; in the above-ground retorting process decomposition begins at 300 °C (570 °F), but proceeds more rapidly and completely at higher temperatures. Decomposition takes place most quickly at a temperature between 480 and 520 °C (900 and 970 °F). Hydrogenation and thermal dissolution (reactive fluid processes) extract

3008-912: The project pending " a more fulsome explanation for the Board’s conclusion that the Railway’s transportation benefits outweighed the project’s environmental impacts". since the Forest Service decision relied on the Surface Transportation Board’s environmental review, the Service withdrew its record of decision and amendment in February 2024. In March 2024 the project backers petitioned the US Supreme Court to decide if "...National Environmental Policy Act requires an agency to study environmental impacts beyond

3072-537: The project, both in California and Utah. The competing Union Pacific Railroad and its formidable leader E. H. Harriman stood in opposition to Clark's plan. Clark's forces began construction work in Nevada, along the existing UP grade, and a brief "railroad war" ensued before Clark and the UP called a truce in 1903. Their agreement called for Clark's railroad to acquire the existing UP trackage south of Salt Lake City. In turn,

3136-406: The proximate effects of the action over which the agency has regulatory authority". The Court scheduled the hearing for December 10, 2024. Shale oil The term "shale oil" is also used for crude oil produced from shales of other unconventional, very low permeability formations. However, to reduce the risk of confusion of shale oil produced from oil shale with crude oil in oil-bearing shales,

3200-542: The rail network that was actually built was the Uintah Railway . However, while the line served the basin for a few years, this line was problematic from day one. The Uintah Railway had a break of gauge , as this branch line was narrow gauge but connected to a standard gauge main at Mack, Colorado . The line featured a 7.5% grade with 65-degree curves, and was so steep that only articulated Shay locomotives , specifically designed for this route, were capable of navigating

3264-468: The railroad's construction particularly for the tunnels along the route were announced with AECOM , a joint venture with Skanska & W.W. Clyde Company , and Obayashi Corporation as principal partners. The US Forest Service granted right-of-way through 12 miles (19 km) of Ashley National Forest and upheld the decision when challenged by several environmental groups. Environmentalist activists are organizing efforts to block construction, citing

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3328-426: The railroad's division point towns were Lynndyl and Milford in Utah; Caliente and Las Vegas in Nevada; and Yermo and San Bernardino in California. The railway also maintained a substantial presence in the remote town of Kelso, California . Nearly the entire route of the railroad traversed rugged and largely unpopulated desert terrain. There were no major population centers between the railroad's endpoints until

3392-566: The railroad. After 1921 the LA&SL lines were operated as part of the UP system, although the LA&SL corporation continued to exist on paper until January 1, 1988. The former LA&SL main line remains part of the UP network today as the Caliente and Lynndyl subdivisions. In 1925, LA&SL reported 1,158 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 192 million passenger-miles. At the end of that year it operated 1,208 miles (1,944 km) of road and 1,970 miles (3,170 km) of track. Originally,

3456-472: The railroad. The key feature of this route would be a 10-mile (16 km) tunnel underneath the Roan Cliffs of the West Tavaputs Plateau, to bypass the 9,144 feet (2,787 m) mountain pass used by US 191 in this area, that if built would be the longest railroad tunnel in Utah. In late 2014, after selecting the routing, the state began studying the cost, estimated to be up to $ 4 billion. With

3520-572: The railway line that became the LA&SL began in 1871 when the Utah Southern Railroad began laying track southward from Salt Lake City. The Utah Southern, controlled by the larger Union Pacific Railroad (UP), built a line to a station known as Juab , Utah, in 1879. From there a second UP subsidiary known as the Utah Southern Railroad Extension took up the work, completing trackage as far as Milford , Utah, in 1880. By

3584-399: The regional Six-County Infrastructure Coalition, began studying transportation in the basin, which is a major oil-producing region. The study determined that the existing infrastructure was unlikely to be able to move the expected volume of oil. In 2013, HDR Engineering, working with the state, began surveying the area for a rail line. After examining 26 potential routings, the state recommended

3648-531: The remainder of the unfinished D&SL route. None of these plans came to fruition. In 1984, the Deseret Power Railway was built to connect a coal mine in Colorado with a power plant in Utah. The route is similar to a small portion of the unfinished D&SL route; however it is completely isolated from the national rail network . In 2012, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), working with

3712-508: The state legislature's transportation committee, said the state would "look at other systems to move product out of the basin other than the railroad at this time." Though the EIS was cancelled, UDOT's report was published in 2015 recommending the line as a top priority for Utah's rail infrastructure, noting the strain the lack of rail access is placing on highways that serve the basin, and the price disadvantage caused by lack of rail access compared to other oil-producing regions with rail. Most of

3776-496: The success of the line through Utah. Construction of the railroad's main line was completed in 1905. Company shareholders adopted the LA&SL name in 1916. The railway was also known by its official nickname, "The Salt Lake Route", and was sometimes informally referred to as "The Clark Road". The tracks are still in use by the modern Union Pacific Railroad , as the Cima , Caliente , Sharp , and Lynndyl Subdivisions . The development of

3840-486: The technology used. About one sixth of the oil shales in the Green River Formation have a relatively high yield of 25 to 100 US gallons (95 to 379 L; 21 to 83 imp gal) of shale oil per ton of oil shale; about one third yield from 10 to 25 US gallons (38 to 95 L; 8.3 to 20.8 imp gal) per ton. (Ten US gal/ton is approximately 3.4 tons of oil per 100 tons of shale.) About half of

3904-526: The term " tight oil " is preferred for the latter. The International Energy Agency recommends to use the term " light tight oil " and World Energy Resources 2013 report by the World Energy Council uses the term " tight oil " for crude oil in oil-bearing shales. Oil shale was one of the first sources of mineral oil used by humans. In the 10th century, the Arabic physician Masawaih al-Mardini (Mesue

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3968-627: The track owners used the line exclusively for transporting coal, whose business has dramatically decreased. Even if access rights could be secured, the STB and the coalition decided there was a risk the Unita Basin Rail operators could be forced to assume ownership and/or maintenance costs for these sections, should coal volumes continue to decrease. Of the 3 routes remaining under study, the Surface Transportation Board recommended one called

4032-549: Was to continue the line all the way to southern California. Another player entered the scene in 1900, when William Andrews Clark acquired the struggling Los Angeles Terminal Railway with an eye to extending the line northeast to Salt Lake. The railroad was reincorporated in 1901 as the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, and Clark announced plans to construct a line between Salt Lake and southern California. Clark assembled political and financial supporters to assist in

4096-461: Was used as a raw material for chemical intermediates, pure chemicals and industrial resins, and as a railroad wood preservative . As of 2008, it is primarily used as a heating oil and marine fuel, and to a lesser extent in the production of various chemicals. Shale oil's concentration of high-boiling point compounds is suited for the production of middle distillates such as kerosene , jet fuel and diesel fuel . Additional cracking can create

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