Oil Shale Market

Oil Shale Market Analysis-2030

The global oil shale market size was valued at $2.8 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $5.9 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2020 to 2030. Oil shale is the rock from which shale oil is extracted. Shale oil is similar to petroleum and can be refined into many different substances, including diesel fuel, gasoline, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG). Companies can also refine shale oil to produce other commercial products, such as ammonia and sulfur. 

A surge in the price of crude oil began during the lockdown, due to extensive supply and less demand, which increased the production of electricity. However, there is no impact of COVID-19 on the oil shale market due to the extensive production of oil.

Oil shale is a low-unit-cost energy commodity that requires mining and retorting thousand tons of oil shale per year to achieve profitability. For example, one short ton of a commercial grade oil shale from the Green River formation in Colorado assays about 35 U.S. gallons of shale oil per short ton of rock (approximately 145 liters per metric ton), or about 0.83 U.S. barrel of oil. About one-fifth of the rock by weight is organic matter that can be retorted to obtain oil and gas. The remaining four-fifths of the oil shale is inert mineral matter that is mined with the organic matter, passed through the retort, and disposed of in an environmentally acceptable way.

In addition, rise in exploration activity of shale products may act as the driving factor for the market. Moreover, high cost associated with exploration projects may act as the restraining factor for the market.

The oil shale market is segmented on the basis of product, technology, process, application, and region. Depending on product, the market is categorized into shale gasoline, shale diesel, kerosene, and others. On the basis of technology, it is classified into in-situ technology and ex-situ technology. By process, it is categorized into oil shale exploration, ore preparation, oil shale retortion, and shale oil refining & specialty services. On the basis of application, it is divided into fuel, electricity, and cement & chemicals. Region wise, it is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

The global oil shale market forecast covers in-depth information about the major industry participants. The key players operating and profiled in the report include Southwestern Energy Company, EQT Corporation, Equinor ASA, Repsol SA, SINOPEC/Shs, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Chevron Corporation and PETROCHINA/Shs.

Global Oil Shale Market, by Product

By product, the shale gasoline segment dominated the global oil shale market share in 2020, and is projected to remain the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. This is attributed to its advantages as it is highly used in the generation of electricity and even it is used to generate a quarter of U.S. electricity.

Global Oil Shale Market, by Technology

By technology, the in-situ segment dominated the global oil shale market in 2020, and is projected to remain the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. This technology is widely used since; in-situ retorting is the only technology available to achieve large-scale industrial exploitation.

Global Oil Shale Market, by Process

By process, the oil shale exploration segment dominated the global oil shale market in 2020, and is projected to remain the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. This is attributed due to its effectiveness since; oil shale is first extracted from the earth by surface or underground mining. The rock is crushed, and then retorted (heated) to release the shale oil. The shale oil is then refined of impurities, such as sulfur. In situ is a new and experimental method of extracting shale oil.

Global Oil Shale Market, by Application

By application, the fuel segment dominated the global oil shale market in 2020, and is projected to remain the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. This is attributed due to rise in population and increased dependency on fuels. 

Global Oil Shale Market, by Region

By region, North America dominated the global oil shale market in 2020, and is projected to remain the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. This is attributed to numerous factors such as large proved reserves, new applications of hydraulic fracturing technology, and horizontal drilling & development of new sources of oil shale.

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• The report provides an in-depth analysis of the global oil shale market trends along with the current and future market forecast.
• This report highlights the key drivers, opportunities, and restraints of the market along with the impact analyses during the forecast period.
• Porter’s five forces analysis helps analyze the potential of the buyers & suppliers and the competitive scenario of the global oil shale market for strategy building.
• A comprehensive global oil shale market analysis covers factors that drive and restrain the oil shale market growth.
• The qualitative data in this report aims on market dynamics, trends, and developments.

Impact Of Covid-19 On The Global Oil Shale Industry

• The emergence of COVID-19 has coincided with a core oil market management dispute. That dispute mainly involves the market shares commanded by Saudi Arabia (the largest sovereign producer among the OPEC membership) and Russia which, along with Mexico and occasionally Norway, has cooperated with OPEC as “OPEC+”. Oil market management disputes inevitably result in lower prices, and so the global oil industry now finds itself reeling from the combined effects of OPEC+ disarray and ultra-low global demand caused by the pandemic.  With all the calculation of OPEC and OPEC+ issue, global demand issue and oversupply scenario, the demand and price of oil shale is negatively impacted.
• US shale oil & gas demand plummeted, prices collapsed, and bankruptcies were announced at exceptional rates due to the uncertainties in crude oil and natural gas prices, Break-Even (BE) prices for fracking operations, financial &technical constraints within the industry, global hydrocarbon demand development, political ®ulatory factors in the US, environmental &societal sustainability, which in turn show the negative demand in the oil shale market. 
• US shale industry registered net negative free cash flows of $300 billion, impaired more than $450 billion of invested capital, and saw more than 190 bankruptcies since 2010. However, there is negative impact on global oil shale market.
• The world began locking down its economies, which brought historic low oil and gas prices as demand crashed. This meant that investment in LNG production and export facilities became less attractive. With demand in freefall, U.S.producers began questioning their investment timescales for new LNG export projects. Final investment decisions have been delayed on seven U.S. LNG projects, representing around 14 billion cubic feet per day of potential capacity.
• The decline was widespread, with record declines in both OECD (-4.8%) and non-OECD (-3.9%) countries. The US (the world’s 2nd-largest energy producer), saw a decline of 5.3%, the largest decline in the world last year, and the largest domestic decline on record.  Production of all fossil fuels, nuclear power, and biofuels declined.
• The price effects of the economic slowdown following the COVID-19 pandemic that contributed to reductions in U.S. petroleum and natural gas reserves in 2020. Proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate decreased by 9 billion barrels in 2020, a decline of 19%, and proved reserves of natural gas decreased by just over 22 trillion cubic feet (TCF), a decline of 4%.
• Petroleum demand, which was largely inelastic—changing by one to three percent annually—slumped by more than 30 MMbbl/d in April. Lockdowns of several nations across the world caused drastic changes in the crude oil market. Oil prices decisively broke the new normal of $50–60/bbl, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) May futures prices falling even below zero (-$37/ bbl) owing to low liquidity and limited available storage. Although the sub-zero price was a temporary dislocation, this intense volatility highlights the fragile state of the industry.
• According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a surge in the price of crude oil began during the lockdown, due to extensive supply and less demand, which increased the production of electricity. However, there is no impact of COVID-19 on the oil shale market due to the extensive production of oil.

 Oil Shale Market Report Highlights