History of the oil shale industry in the United States Act of 1985 which among other things abolished the United States' Synthetic Liquid Fuels Program. Union finally bowed to continued low oil prices and closed the project in 1991, rather than complete the US$2 billion project. Over several decades, some of the world's largest oil companies (Amoco, Arco, Chevron, Exxon, Gulf, Phillips, Shell, Sohio, Sunoco, Texaco, Union Oil) had spent billions of dollars to start an oil shale industry in the Green River Formation, the world's largest oil shale resource. But in the end, cheap petroleum prices drove oil shale out of business. Even after the oil shale bust, some
Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador sought to become involved in politics because of politicians' tendency to make concessions. Nevertheless, the situation in Ecuador, especially in the Amazon region of the Oriente, was becoming desperate, as oil exploration was due to increase at any moment. Rumblings began within the organization to adapt to the political process, but a statute was passed in 1995 by CONAIE prohibiting members from running for political office. In 1996, CONAIE reversed its stand on elections and played a major role in the formation of Pachakutik (Pluri-National Pachakutik United Movement - New Country), an electoral coalition of indigenous and non-indigenous social movements