oil shale

American  

noun

Geology.

1. a black or dark-brown shale or siltstone rich in bitumens, from which shale oil is obtained by destructive distillation.

---

oil shale British  

noun

1. a fine-grained shale containing oil, which can be extracted by heating

---

oil shale Scientific  

1. A fine-grained black or dark brown shale containing hydrocarbons in the form of kerogen. When heated, oil shale yields petroleum or natural gas.

---

Etymology

Origin of oil shale

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oil shale

It is a former manufacturing state that has been transitioning to newer industries and businesses, but it has a large energy sector because of its abundant oil shale deposits.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2024

Producers also argue it will eventually allow them to develop oil shale and tar sands oil that are currently too costly to pursue.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 10, 2023

Kallas' government has pledged to move away from producing any electricity from oil shale by 2035, turning to wind and solar power for energy instead.

From Reuters ● Mar. 2, 2023

Extracted by strip mining or creating subsurface mines, oil shale can be burned directly like coal or baked in the presence of hydrogen to extract liquid petroleum.

From Textbooks ● Sep. 6, 2018

Among these are gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, mica, corundum, graphite, manganese, kaolin, mill-stone grits, marble, barytes, oil shale, buhrstones, roofing slate, etc.

From School History of North Carolina : from 1584 to the present time by Moore, John W. (John Wheeler)