Oil shale in Morocco
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Oil shale in Morocco represents a significant potential resource. The ten known oil shale deposits in Morocco contain over 53.381 billion barrels (8.4869×109 m3) of shale oil. Although Moroccan oil shale has been studied since the 1930s and several pilot plants have extracted shale oil from the local formations, commercial extraction was not underway as of 2011.
Morocco's total oil shale resources are estimated at 53.381 billion barrels (8.4869×109 m3) of shale oil.[1] According to the United States Department of Energy, the oil shale deposits in Morocco constitute about 3.5% of the world's known oil shale resources.[2] There are ten known oil shale deposits in Morocco.[3] Most of the local deposits were laid down during the Upper Cretaceous era and are marinites. The most important of these are located at Tarfaya (in the south-westernmost part of Morocco) and Timahdit (in the Middle Atlas Mountains).[4]
The largest known oil shale deposit in Morocco is located at Tarfaya. The deposit is estimated at 80 billion tons of oil shale, containing 22.7 billion barrels (3.61×109 m3) of shale oil.[1] The deposit is divided into two flanks on each side of Tazrha sabkha. The volume of the west flank area is over 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi); the east flank area's volume is over 140 square kilometres (54 sq mi).[5] The average thickness of the formation is 22 metres (72 ft). Its moisture content is about 20% and its sulfur content is about 2%. It yields about 62 litres (14 imp gal; 16 US gal) of shale oil per one ton of oil shale.[6]
The second largest deposit is located at Timahdit, about 250 kilometres (160 mi) southeast of Rabat.[1] Geologically, it comprises two basins: El koubbat and Angueur synclines.[5] The oil shale formation is about 70 kilometres (43 mi) long and 4 to 10 kilometres (2.5 to 6.2 mi) wide. The volume of the El koubbat syncline formation is about 250 square kilometres (97 sq mi); the Angueur syncline area is about 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi).[5][6] The deposit is estimated to consist of 42 billion tons of oil shale, containing 16.1 billion barrels (2.56×109 m3) of shale oil.[1] The oil shale formation's thickness varies from 80 to 250 metres (260 to 820 ft).[5][6] Its moisture content is 6–11% and sulfur content is about 2%. On average it yields 70 litres (15 imp gal; 18 US gal) of shale oil per one ton of oil shale.[6] As the Timahdit deposit is located near Ifrane National Park and Haut-Atlas Oriental National Park, oil extraction is an environmentally sensitive issue.[7]
The third largest deposit, consisting of 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi), is located near Tanger. The deposit is estimated to contain 2 billion barrels (320×106 m3) of shale oil. The oil shale formation's maximum thickness is 8 metres (26 ft). It yields 30–85 litres (6.6–18.7 imp gal; 7.9–22.5 US gal) of shale oil per one ton of oil shale.[5]
