Eesti Energia Plans to Fuel Cars with Shale Oil by 2016

Eesti Energia, Estonia's national power company, says that it is looking at ways to power the country's cars with fuel from oil shale by 2016.

Speaking at a shale oil demonstration day, officials from Eesti Energia said that the potential for oil shale looked promising.

Harri Mikk,  the manager of the company's Minerals, Oils and Biofuels division, said that the company was planning to expand its production of shale oil to replace the reliance on traditional petrol and diesel fuels for cars and vehicles.

"Today we have 600 litres of car fuel corresponding to modern fuel requirements," he said. "By 2016, we plan to expand production and produce liquid fuels in a volume that would cover the needs of the whole of Estonia."

As part of the demonstration, a car fuelled with shale oil was run successfully. Eesti Energia hope to replicate the effects on a grander scale.

Igor Kond, head of the board of Eesti Energia Õlitööstus, said that while shale oil was not viable at current prices, Eesti Energia hoped to be producing 500,000 tons a year rather than the current 600 litres of fuel a year by 2017 at the latest.