Livermore Lab and American Shale Oil Team to Study Carbon Sequestration
04 December 2008 - 8:35AM
Business Wire
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and American
Shale Oil, LLC (AMSO), a subsidiary of IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT;
IDT.C), announced today that they have entered into a technical
cooperation agreement to develop carbon sequestration technologies
for in-ground shale-oil production processes. Specifically, LLNL
will partner with AMSO to study how to use depleted underground oil
shale retorts to permanently store carbon dioxide generated during
the oil shale extraction process. AMSO will provide technical
expertise and oil shale core samples from its federal lease site.
Oil shale can be converted to oil by subjecting it to high
temperatures and high pressures �by speeding up the geologic clock
so to speak. In early demonstration projects, LLNL researchers used
explosives to fracture the vast oil-shale reserves in the western
U.S. so that the oil could be processed in place, thus providing an
important alternative to imported oil. That effort evolved in the
early 1980s into a surface oil-shale retorting process that used
hot oil-shale particles as the heat carrier. The research also
produced a model of how oil is formed in nature. Today, this model
aids the exploration efforts of nearly every major oil company in
the world. The shale that remains in the ground after the oil is
extracted could be used as a storage place for the carbon dioxide
that is created during the extraction process. �We�re glad to be
working with the impressive staff and capabilities of AMSO to help
tackle the key environmental and technical challenges facing
domestic oil shale production,� said Julio Friedmann, program
leader of LLNL�s carbon management program. �We see this
partnership in line with our mission in energy and environmental
security for the nation.� AMSO holds a Research Development and
Demonstration (RD&D) lease from the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management for a 160-acre parcel of federal land in northwest
Colorado�s oil-shale rich Piceance Basin. Upon demonstration of an
economically viable, environmentally acceptable extraction process,
AMSO has a preference right to acquire a 5,120-acre commercial
lease. After the oil is extracted from shale, the depleted retort
of heated, rubblized underground shale may be particularly suitable
for capturing carbon dioxide, according to Dr. Alan K. Burnham,
AMSO�s Chief Technology Officer. �Together with the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory, we will explore several interesting
approaches to protect the environment by sequestering CO2 through
mineralization in retorted oil shale.� �Lawrence Livermore National
Lab is a nationally recognized leader in scientific research on
clean energy production�, said IDT Chairman and AMSO CEO Howard
Jonas. �I�m delighted that the Lab will be working with AMSO to
develop carbon sequestration approaches for oil shale production.
Americans deserve affordable fuels developed using the best
available environmental protection technologies.� Founded in 1952,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a national security
laboratory, with a mission to ensure national security and apply
science and technology to the important issues of our time.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence
Livermore National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of
Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. About AMSO
American Shale Oil, LLC (AMSO), (www.amso.net) a subsidiary of IDT
Corporation (www.idt.net), is one of three companies holding a U.S.
Bureau of Land Management oil shale research, development and
demonstration lease of government-owned lands in the�Piceance Basin
in northwest Colorado. AMSO�s mission is to develop its proprietary
technology into a commercially viable and environmentally sound
method of producing commercial quantities of shale oil by using
in-situ extraction processes. AMSO has developed a multi-phase plan
from the initial pilot stage through commercial conversion of the
BLM lease. About IDT Corporation IDT Corporation (www.idt.net) is a
consumer-focused multinational holding company. In this press
release, all statements that are not purely about historical facts,
including, but not limited to, those in which we use the words
�believe,� �anticipate,� �expect,� �plan,� �intend,� �estimate,
�target� and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent our
current judgment of what may happen in the future, actual results
may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by
these statements due to numerous important factors, including, but
not limited to, those described in our most recent report on SEC
Form 10-K (under the heading �Management�s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations�), which may be
revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on SEC Forms 10-Q and
8-K. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
potential declines in prices for our products and services; our
ability to maintain and grow our retail telecommunications
services, particularly our prepaid calling card business;
availability of termination capacity; financial stability of our
customers; our ability to maintain carrier agreements with foreign
carriers; effectiveness of our marketing and distribution efforts;
increased competition, particularly from regional bell operating
companies; our ability to manage our growth; impact of government
regulation; our ability to obtain telecommunications products or
services required for our products and services; and general
economic conditions, particularly in the telecommunications
markets. We are under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any
obligation, to update the forward-looking statements in this press
release, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
I D T (NYSE:IDT.C)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
I D T (NYSE:IDT.C)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024