CANSHALE CORP - Oil (Kerogen) Shale - Who? What? How?

CANSHALE CORP - Oil (Kerogen) Shale - Who? What? How?

Postby Oscar » Mon Sep 02, 2013 10:40 am

Oilsands Quest announces cancellation of sale of oil shale assets to Canshale

[ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... 11644.html ]

NYSE Amex: BQI August 13, 2010

CALGARY, Aug. 13 /CNW/ - Oilsands Quest Inc. (NYSE AMEX:BQI) ("OQI") announced today the cancellation of the previously disclosed sale of its oil shale assets located near Pasquia Hills, Saskatchewan to Canshale Corp. ("Canshale"). The sale of these assets was conditional upon Canshale raising a minimum of CDN $12.5 million by July 30. As Canshale was unable to secure that financing, the transaction has been cancelled and the oil shale assets continue to be owned by Oilsands Quest Inc.

OQI has recently had additional expressions of interest in the oil shale assets and will investigate these options to determine if a sale or joint venture of the oil shale assets is in the best interests of the company. This will allow continued focus of our financial and management resources on developing OQI's portfolio of oil sands projects.

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CanShale spends $4.6M in Hudson Bay area

[ http://www.leaderpost.com/business/CanS ... story.html ]

By Bruce Johnstone, Leader-Post August 20, 2013

The Calgary oilman who tried to be the first to develop Saskatchewan’s oilsands potential is attempting to become the first to develop the province’s oil shale resource.

Chris Hopkins, former president and CEO of Oilsands Quest, is heading up CanShale Corp., a Calgary-based private oil company, which spent $4.6 million in the August land sale to acquire three oil shale exploratory permits in the Hudson Bay area in northeastern Saskatchewan.

Oil shale — not to be confused with shale oil and shale gas — is a kerogen-bearing rock that contains immature hydrocarbons that have not converted to oil or gas. Kerogen is used as a source of kerosene, paraffin, fuel oil, lubricant and grease, among other things.

“These sediments ... were laid down in the ancient sea that was extensive across central North America. In the Saskatchewan area, the sediments are undisturbed and have never been buried deep enough to convert the hydrocarbon content into oil or gas,” Hopkins said.

“In our case, the rock is close to surface and could be mined and extracted through external processes.”

Discovered in Saskatchewan in 1913, and rediscovered by Sun Oil in the 1960s, oil shale was considered uneconomic to develop until recently. But Hopkins said kerogen is not a low-value product.

“It’s high value, but if it’s to be produced and sold as oil, it requires a process to convert the kerogen into oil,” Hopkins said, adding that CanShale’s Golden Plain North project has identified 2.9 billion barrels of kerogen in place in the Hudson Bay area.

Why Hopkins left the company he founded, Oilsands Quest, which went into creditor protection and saw its remaining assets sold for $10 million to Cenovus in 2012, is a complicated story better left to another day. Suffice to say, Hopkins left Oilsands Quest in early 2010 to set up CanShale, which was supposed to develop the oil shale assets of Oilsands Quest after raising $12.5 million through a share offering. However, that transaction was rescinded by Oilsands Quest’s board of directors and CanShale remains closely-held company.

“So we acquired our own properties independently of Oilsands Quest,” Hopkins said. “Oilsands Quest has followed its own course and part of its asset base was its oil shale interests. It converted a portion of those interests to a lease, which it ultimately sold to Cenovus. The remaining acreage was relinquished to the Crown a portion of which we acquired.”

Hopkins said CanShale is “exploration-focused company,” which intends to spend the next five or so years exploring the Hudson Bay area for oil shale. “We will not be producing the oil from the kerogen.”

[ . . . ]
Last edited by Oscar on Wed Oct 02, 2013 4:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Postby Oscar » Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:32 pm

Canshale Corp - Oil (Kerogen) Shale

CANSHALE CORP.

GOLDEN PLAIN PROJECT
[ http://www.canshale.com/golden_plain.php ]

AREA MAP

Click here to view a detailed map featuring Canshale’s Golden Plain oil shale mineral permit lands.

[ http://www.canshale.com/assets/pdf/CanS ... in-map.pdf ]


QUESTIONS?

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have regarding investment or Canshale’s projects.

[ http://www.canshale.com/contact.php ]

Canshale Corp.’s “Golden Plain Permit” totals 39,008 hectares near the town of Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan and encompasses an abundance of oil shale—an organically rich sedimentary rock from which liquid hydrocarbons can be obtained. The Golden Plain North Permit comprises 26,720 hectares, while the Golden Plain South Permit encompasses 12,288 hectares directly south of the North Permit. The Best Estimate of Resources in the two Permits is 4.5 billion barrels of kerogen in place (Norwest Corp., NI 51-101, October 2011).

With a robust infrastructure in Hudson Bay, the development costs of bringing a large-scale project to the area are drastically reduced. Comprising flat prairie lands, the site lies at a major transportation junction with railways running in three directions and main highways in all four. The town also boasts a paved airstrip and ready access to grid power. The Moose Capital of the World has welcomed Canshale to its community.

SPECIAL AGREEMENT

Canshale is pleased to report that a Special Agreement under Section 4 of the Crown Minerals Act has been reached with Saskatchewan’s Energy and Resources Ministry. Canshale is granted an Oil Shale Mineral Permit granting comprehensive mineral and shale development rights and addressing: Land tenure, Lease renewals, rentals, work commitments and royalties.

= = = =

(SK) AUGUST LAND SALE TOPS $15 MILLION

[ http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=e251c7 ... 4a2969274c ]

News Release - August 15, 2013

The August sale of petroleum and natural gas rights brought in $15.1 million in revenue. The average price paid for leases this sale was $690/hectare, the highest since the August 2011 land sale.

“Saskatchewan continues to offer great resources in a competitive climate,” Energy and Resources Minister Tim McMillan said. “The premium that industry has placed on acquiring oil and gas leases shows that this is a great place to invest.”

Year-to-date revenue from the four land sales held in 2013 is $44.3 million.

The Weyburn-Estevan area received the most bids with sales of $11.1 million. The Kindersley-Kerrobert area was next at $2.1 million, followed by the Swift Current area at $1.1 million and the Lloydminster area at $688,887.

The three oil shale special exploratory permit blocks on offer near Hudson Bay received a total of $4.6 million in work commitment bids from Canshale Corp. (Emphasis Added)

The highest price paid for a single parcel was $1.7 million. Scott Land & Lease Ltd. acquired the 1,036-hectare exploration licence north of Estevan.

The highest price on a per-hectare basis was $5,617. Mammoth Land Services Ltd. bid $363,702 for a 64.75-hectare lease south of Gull Lake.

“Industry continues to show confidence in the potential for new discoveries in Saskatchewan, and the rejuvenated interest in our oil shale underscores that optimism,” McMillan said. “Prior to this sale there were four oil shale special exploratory permits active in the Hudson Bay area. The addition of three new permits in this sale more than doubles the acreage under exploration.” (Emphasis Added)

The next sale of Crown petroleum and natural gas dispositions will be held on October 7, 2013. -30-

For more information, contact:

Joanne Johnson
Economy
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4765
Email: joanne.johnson@gov.sk.ca
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HOPKINS: Harvesting Oil Shale

Postby Oscar » Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:16 pm

----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Hopkins
To: Elaine Hughes
Cc: Nick Pohorelic
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 11:48 AM
Subject: Re: CANSHALE: Re: Response to Inquiry

I would be pleased to discuss Saskatchewan's oil shale resources with you some time. I note your interest and as an environmetal professional, myself, respect your request.

At present, it is important to consider that we are focussed on delineating the resource and confirming the technical and economic feasibility for its development. We are not proposing to develop the resource ourselves - since this is the realm of the Majors, so the method and timing of extraction could vary depending on the operator.

In terms of protecting the environment, Canada, especially Western Canada, has established among the highest level of environmental standards with which to test any new or proposed development. For this we can largely thank the development of Canada/Alberta's oil sands and the incredible learning curve this has demonstrated. As I am sure you will agree, the development of oil sands stands as an excellent example of what man is capable of accomplishing.

The processes embodied in these environmental reviews would be applied to any development, including ones in eastern Saskatchewan, I am sure. Long before a development could occur, an environmental assessment would likely be completed, which would encompass consultation among the affected stakeholders. This would present detailed proposals to address the topics you list, and many others.

Regards,

Christopher Hopkins

- - - - -

From: Elaine Hughes <tybach@sasktel.net>
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 12:12:30 -0500
To: Christopher Hopkins <chopkins@canshale.com>
Subject: CANSHALE: Re: Response to Inquiry

Thank you for your reply, Mr. Hopkins - I'm sure you're busy . . . .

I would appreciate learning what method(s) you propose to use to harvest this oil shale/kerogen?

Also, please provide Links to details of the safe guards in place to protect the surrounding ecosystems: water, air, land, wildlife, and residents.

I appreciate your time,

Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK

- - - - - -

----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Hopkins
To: tybach@sasktel.net
Cc: Nick Pohorelic
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 10:41 AM
Subject: Response to Inquiry

Dear Elaine:

Thank you for your note. I apologize for the delay in responding.

The resources identified near Hudson Bay Sask. are not suited to fracturing in order to produce oil. The fracturing technique you refer to is used primarily to produce oil and/or gas from deeply deposited oil or gas bearing shales. Typically, this will also involve drilling very long horizontal wells and employing multi-stage fracing.

The non-conventional energy projects referred to are oil sands (in previous enterprises) and the oil shale near Hudson Bay. Although the latter is termed "oil shale", it is in fact a kerogen-bearing shale and is located close to surface.

Regards,

Christopher Hopkins

- - - - -
From: Elaine Hughes [mailto:tybach@sasktel.net]
Sent: August 16, 2013 12:30 PM
To: INFO
Subject: Golden Plain Project

"A private Canadian transactions company, Canshale’s principals have a proven record of identifying large scale, non-conventional energy projects and managing them to liquidity . . ."

By 'non-conventional' do you mean that hydraulic fracturing is going to be used on this project?

Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK
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Oil Shale - What? How?

Postby Oscar » Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:35 pm

What is Oil Shale?

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_shale ]

Oil shale, also known as kerogen shale, is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquidhydrocarbons called shale oil (not to be confused with tight oil—crude oil occurring naturally in shales) can be produced. Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil; however, extracting shale oil from oil shale is more costly than the production of conventional crude oil both financially and in terms of its environmental impact.[1][2]

Deposits of oil shale occur around the world, including major deposits in the United States. Estimates of global deposits range from 2.8 to 3.3 trillion barrels (450×109 to 520×109 m3) of recoverable oil.[2][3][4][5]

Heating oil shale to a sufficiently high temperature causes the chemical process of pyrolysis to yield a vapor. Upon cooling the vapor, the liquid shale oil—an unconventional oil—is separated from combustible oil-shale gas (the term shale gas can also refer to gas occurring naturally in shales). Oil shale can also be burnt directly in furnaces as a low-grade fuel for power generationand district heating or used as a raw material in chemical and construction-materials processing.[2][6]

Oil shale gains attention as a potential abundant source of oil whenever the price of crude oil rises.[7][8] At the same time, oil-shale mining and processing raise a number of environmental concerns, such as land use, waste disposal, water use, waste-water management, greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollution.[9][10] Estonia and China have well-established oil shale industries, and Brazil, Germany, Russia also utilize oil shale.[2]

General composition of oil shales constitutes inorganic matrix, bitumens, and kerogen. Oil shales differ from oil-bearing shales, shale deposits which contain petroleum (tight oil) that is sometimes produced from drilled wells. Examples of oil-bearing shales are the Bakken Formation, Pierre Shale, Niobrara Formation, and Eagle Ford Formation.

= = = =

Shale oil extraction

Overview of shale oil extraction.

Most exploitation of oil shale involves mining followed by shipping elsewhere, after which one can burn the shale directly to generate electricity, or undertake further processing. The most common methods of surface mining involve open pit mining and strip mining. These procedures remove most of the overlying material to expose the deposits of oil shale, and become practical when the deposits occur near the surface. Underground mining of oil shale, which removes less of the overlying material, employs the room-and-pillar method.[47]

The extraction of the useful components of oil shale usually takes place above ground (ex-situ processing), although several newer technologies perform this underground (on-site or in-situ processing).[48] In either case, the chemical process of pyrolysis converts the kerogen in the oil shale to shale oil (synthetic crude oil) and oil shale gas. Most conversion technologies involve heating shale in the absence of oxygen to a temperature at which kerogen decomposes (pyrolyses) into gas, condensable oil, and a solid residue. This usually takes place between 450 °C (842 °F) and 500 °C (932 °F).[1] The process of decomposition begins at relatively low temperatures (300 °C or 572 °F), but proceeds more rapidly and more completely at higher temperatures.[49]

In-situ processing involves heating the oil shale underground. Such technologies can potentially extract more oil from a given area of land than ex-situ processes, since they can access the material at greater depths than surface mines can. Several companies have patented methods for in-situ retorting. However, most of these methods remain in the experimental phase. One can distinguish true in-situ processes (TIS) and modified in-situ processes (MIS). True in-situ processes do not involve mining the oil shale. Modified in-situ processes involve removing part of the oil shale and bringing it to the surface for modified in-situ retorting in order to create permeability for gas flow in a rubble chimney. Explosives rubblize the oil-shale deposit.[50]

Hundreds of patents for oil shale retorting technologies exist;[51] however, only a few dozen have undergone testing. As of 2006, only four technologies remained in commercial use: Kiviter, Galoter, Fushun, and Petrosix.[52]

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Environmental impact of the oil shale industry

Mining oil shale involves a number of environmental impacts, more pronounced in surface mining than in underground mining.[68] These include acid drainage induced by the sudden rapid exposure and subsequent oxidation of formerly buried materials, the introduction of metals including mercury[69] into surface-water and groundwater, increased erosion, sulfur-gas emissions, and air pollution caused by the production of particulates during processing, transport, and support activities.[9][10] In 2002, about 97% of air pollution, 86% of total waste and 23% of water pollution in Estonia came from the power industry, which uses oil shale as the main resource for its power production.[70]

Oil-shale extraction can damage the biological and recreational value of land and the ecosystem in the mining area. Combustion and thermal processing generate waste material. In addition, the atmospheric emissions from oil shale processing and combustion include carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Environmentalists oppose production and usage of oil shale, as it creates even more greenhouse gases than conventional fossil fuels.[71] Section 526 of the Energy Independence And Security Act prohibits United States government agencies from buying oil produced by processes that produce more greenhouse gas emissions than would traditional petroleum.[72] Experimental in situ conversion processes and carbon capture and storage technologies may reduce some of these concerns in the future, but at the same time they may cause other problems, including groundwater pollution.[73] Among the water contaminants commonly associated with oil shale processing are oxygen and nitrogen heterocyclic hydrocarbons. Commonly detected examples include quinoline derivatives, pyridine, and various alkyl homologues of pyridine (picoline, lutidine).[74]

Some have expressed concerns over the oil shale industry's use of water. In 2002, the oil shale-fired power industry used 91% of the water consumed in Estonia.[70] Depending on technology, above-ground retorting uses between one and five barrels of water per barrel of produced shale-oil.[47][75][76][77] A 2008 programmatic environmental impact statement issued by the US Bureau of Land Management stated that surface mining and retort operations produce 2 to 10 US gallons (7.6 to 38 l; 1.7 to 8.3 imp gal) of waste water per 1 short ton (0.91 t) of processed oil shale.[75] In situ processing, according to one estimate, uses about one-tenth as much water.[78]

Water concerns become particularly sensitive issues in arid regions, such as the western US and Israel's Negev Desert, where plans exist to expand oil-shale extraction despite a water shortage.[79]

Environmental activists, including members of Greenpeace, have organized strong protests against the oil shale industry. In one result, Queensland Energy Resources put the proposed Stuart Oil Shale Project in Australia on hold in 2004.[9][80][81]
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