Talk:Shale oil

Correctness??
I believe this entire article is incorrect. There is a difference between Shale Oil and Oil Shale.

Shale oil is similar to shale gas. It is oil stored in tight shale formations requiring pressure fracturing techniques in order to extract it. The oil is in fact of higher quality and value than WTI.

What has been described in this article is "Oil Shale", the low grade Kerogen hydrocarbon that requires significant upgrading to be used as petroleum..

http://seekingalpha.com/article/175771-the-difference-between-oil-shale-and-shale-oil


 * The article is correct. Shale oil is an ambiguous terms which means both: oil shale oil and crude oil from shale formation. This article is about shale oil in oil shale oil meaning. There is no article in wikipedia about shale oil in meaning of crude oil from shale. Also, oil shale is not the same thing as oil shale oil. Oil shale is a sedimentary rock, shale oil (oil shale oil) is a product which is produced by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution of oil shale. E.g. the link you provided above says: "Exxon estimates that it would process about 66,000 tons of raw [oil] shale per day to produce around 47,000 barrels per day of shale oil."  Beagel (talk) 18:37, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree with the incorrect statement. This article is confusing to an outside reader that does not understand the difference between the two materials. Shale oil is the same as conventional oil but trapped in a shale formation whereas Oil shale is a type of rock itself which contains Kerogen which can be converted into the synthetic oil. Even the user Beagel states that in his reply above. So if Beagel sees that the article is about "oil shale oil" and not shale oil then maybe it should be titled that or be included under the discussion of oil shale instead of incorrectly titled shale oil? The topic of shale oil should be linked or tied with the discussion of tight oil since that seems to be the one talking more specifically about shale oil. I think even the supporting article listed above gives a prime example of the confusion that sometimes arises from using the terms. Wikipedia should give a better, clearer, and more correct definition and explanation of the two and not just cop out and say the terms are ambigious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.186.54.69 (talk) 14:18, 21 March 2012 (UTC)


 * The title is not incorrect. The term 'shale oil' has been used in the meaning of synthetic oil produced from oil shale since the work of Selique and Young in the 19th century. It is also terms used by scientific journals, including Oil Shale journal, and industries.  Saying that 'shale oil' is more correct title for tight oil than for oil shale oil is incorrect. Right now the article uses hatnote explicitly saying that for the article about crude oil stored in shale reservoirs, the correct article is Tight oil. Beagel (talk) 17:08, 21 March 2012 (UTC)


 * Definition of shale oil by Britannica: "shale oil, in fossil fuel production, either a synthetic crude oil that is extracted from oil shale by means of pyrolysis or a naturally occurring crude oil that is extracted from underground shale deposits by means of fracking (hydraulic fracturing)." Beagel (talk) 13:54, 26 March 2012 (UTC)


 * The analysis in Forbes U.S. Might Have More Oil Resources Than Saudi Arabia, But... The Difference Between Oil Shale and Oil-Bearing Shale says: "The oil that is being produced from these [Bakken and Eagle Ford] shale formations is sometimes improperly referred to as shale oil. ... This oil is properly called “tight oil“. ... The term shale oil has been used for over 100 years to describe a very different resource." So, the article says that shale oil is produced from oil shale while oil froduced from shale formations called tight oil. Beagel (talk) 20:24, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

what is this nonsense?
I got here from Wall Street Journal's

"A shale-oil boom will thrust the U.S. ahead of Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer by 2020, a radical shift that could profoundly transform not just the world’s energy supplies but also its geopolitics, the International Energy Agency said. In its closely watched annual World Energy Outlook, the IEA, which advises industrialized nations" Nov 13, 2012.

Yet Wiki's article implies this is a non-practical source of oil?! ha? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.177.232.163 (talk) 23:13, 12 November 2012 (UTC)


 * IEA actually is talking about tight oil (petroleum in the oil-bearing shales) and not about shale oil produced from oil shale. For the difference of these things, please see the above discussion. While the IEA uses terms correctly, they are mixed by the Wall Street Journal, which makes confusion. Beagel (talk) 06:18, 13 November 2012 (UTC)


 * While "shale oil" has traditionally meant oil manufactured from oil shale kerogen, it is increasingly being used for oil produced from oil-bearing shale. We may find ourselves on the wrong side of history. Besides popular media outlets such as the WSJ quoted above, even the US Energy Information Administration has taken to using "shale oil" for what we at Wikipedia call "tight oil in shale" (see: US shale gas and shale oil plays) It reminds me of back in 2007 when I wanted to start the Wiki article on shale gas, I had to hijack the existing "shale gas" link, which was a redirect to an oil shale-related article. It may be premature to make the change now, but the day may come when we have to adopt the new terminology. Regards.  Plazak (talk) 18:23, 14 September 2013 (UTC)

Continued terminology confusion: shale oil, oil shale and tight oil

 * Shale oil, known also as kerogen oil or oil-shale oil, is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale


 * Tight oil (also known as shale oil or light tight oil, abbreviated LTO) is a petroleum play that consists of light crude oil contained in petroleum-bearing formations of low permeability, often shale or tight sandstone

Obvious potential for confusing our users here. I'm not an oil guy, but my attention was drawn by a recent discussion paper at Harvard: The Shale Oil Boom: a US Phenomenon by Leonardo Maugeri, Harvard University, Geopolitics of Energy Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Discussion Paper 2013-05. Magueri, an industry insider, opts for "shale oil" for what we call tight oil, and remarks "Shale oil must not be confused with oil shale... " (Box 1, p.2, where he discusses the terminology in some detail). My guess is, the industry will settle on shale oil, for comparison to shale gas and for promotion.

At the least, both articles need a dab hatnote explaining the terms. Also see Plazak's cmt above, at 18:23, 14 September 2013 (UTC). Best, Pete Tillman (talk) 18:35, 17 October 2013 (UTC), a mining guy.
 * See the hatnote at Shale oil extraction for a model to build on. Pete Tillman (talk) 17:04, 20 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes, this is continuing to happen in 2022, with an anonymous editor adding a comparison confusing the two, and likely to confuse readers.  While there is a technical term for tight oil laid out in the lead and linked to, what alternative term is there for shale oil from kerogen from oil shale?  The term oil shale may be used but refers to the rock. Suggest continuing to make the distinction, and I can add a hatnote to Shale oil extraction. --Cedderstk 12:34, 1 November 2022 (UTC)