National Mineral Resources University — Mining University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia:

M. Yu. Nazarenko, Post-Graduate Student, max.nazarenko@mail.ru
N. K. Kondrasheva, Head of a Chair, Doctor of Engineering Sciences
S. N. Saltykova, Assistant Professor, Candidate of Engineering Sciences

The recent two–three decades feature rapid depletion of readily accessible and high-grade nonrenewable energy sources — oil and natural gas. All Russia’s largest oil fields have been operating since the Soviet period and are depleted by more than 50%; an increase is observed in oil reserves hard to recover, and in sulfur and water content of produced oil. By expert estimates, oil production will come to remote and inaccessible areas, resulting in escalation in cost of recovery and refining. The current state of the economy necessitates diversification in the structure of power engineering and development in the area of non-hydrocarbon sources of energy, using local fuel types, including low-grade and nonconventional, for instance, oil shale. In view of diminished reserves of readily accessible high-grade oil and gas and due to related increase in cost of oil and gas production during the descent in the world market value of hydrocarbons, the authors review present-day studies that demonstrate technicaltechnological capabilities and economic expediency of recommencement of oil shale extraction and deeper conversion, using their mineral and organic constituents, based on explored large deposits located in the developed areas in Russia. The article describes key deposits and reserves of oil shale, compares power-generating characteristics of oil shale and coal, shows multicomponent mineral composition and material constitution of oil shale, and lists some processing technologies allowing marketable products usable in production of building materials, road making, agriculture and in other areas of economics. Some ecological issues related with oil shale extraction and conversion as well as their potential solutions are addressed by the authors.

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