What is oil shale?

Oil shale is a mixture of minerals and kerogen that requires energy-intensive heating to produce oil, resulting in significantly higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil. The document highlights that oil shale is largely commercially unviable and poses risks to air and groundwater, advocating for reduced oil consumption and fuel efficiency over the expansion of unconventional oil production.

• Oil shale is distinct from "shale oil" (or "tight oil"); while the latter is trapped in limestone or sandstone, oil shale consists of sand, silt, salt, and kerogen that must be heated to produce oil.
• Producing fuel from oil shale is significantly more polluting than conventional oil, with some estimates suggesting it may generate three or more times the heat-trapping gas emissions.
• Oil shale extraction—whether through surface, underground, or in-situ mining—is energy-intensive and creates risks of water pollution via spills, leaks, and runoff affecting groundwater.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2015). What is oil shale? https://www.ucs.org/resources/what-oil-shale

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. What is oil shale? 2015. https://www.ucs.org/resources/what-oil-shale.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=What is oil shale? |date=3 March 2015 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/what-oil-shale |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2015what, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{What is oil shale?}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/what-oil-shale}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }