shale oil

American  

noun

1. petroleum distilled from oil shale.

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shale oil British  

noun

1. an oil distilled from shales and used as fuel

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Etymology

Origin of shale oil

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Until 2020, big economic shocks tended to push inflation lower: China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, the U.S. mortgage crisis, the euro crisis, the shale oil revolution, the initial wave of Covid-19.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

Harold Hamm, the founder and chairman of the fracking and shale oil company Continental Resources, whom Trump effusively praised during the session, demurred when Trump asked him if Continental would plunge into the Venezuela market.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2026

That compares to around eight million barrels of U.S. shale oil production a day.

From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026

Another host, Harold G. Hamm, the executive chair and founder of Continental Resources, is one of the pioneers of the shale oil boom that turned the United States into the world’s largest crude exporter.

From Seattle Times • May 28, 2024

On mixing this soda-tar with dilute acid, the "crude shale oil creosote" separates, and is measured off.

From A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines. by Beringer, Cornelius