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
Oil dispersants Dispersants were applied to a number of oil spills between the years 1967 and 1989. During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, an estimated 1.84 million gallons of Corexit was used in an attempt to reduce the amount of surface oil and mitigate the damage to coastal habitat. BP purchased one-third of the world's supply of Corexit soon after the spill began. Nearly half (771,000 gallons) of the dispersants were applied directly at the wellhead. The primary dispersant used were Corexit 9527 and 9500, which were controversial due to toxicity. In 2012, a study found that Corexit made the oil up