Shale oil extraction Energy estimates that the "ex-situ" processing would be economic at sustained average world oil prices above $54 per barrel and "in-situ" processing would be economic at prices above $35 per barrel. These estimates assume a return rate of 15%. Royal Dutch Shell announced in 2006 that its Shell ICP technology would realize a profit when crude oil prices are higher than $30 per barrel ($190/m), while some technologies at full-scale production assert profitability at oil prices even lower than $20 per barrel ($130/m). To increase the efficiency of oil shale retorting and by this the viability of the shale oil
Barrel (unit) US barrels for the benefit of American investors and oil marketers. They will generally quote prices in Canadian dollars per cubic metre to other Canadian companies, but use US dollars per barrel in financial reports and press statements, making it appear to the outside world that they operate in barrels. Companies on the European stock exchanges report the mass of oil in metric tonnes. Since different varieties of petroleum have different densities, however, there is not a single conversion between mass and volume. For example, one tonne of heavy distillates might occupy a volume of 256 US gallons (6.1 bbl).