Estonia Energy Profile 2012

Oil shale is Estonia's principal mineral resource. The shale, processed mainly into gas, furnishes fuel for electric power. Power from this source has been an important factor in Estonia's  industrialization, which occurred rapidly after World War II.

As of May 2007, Estonia has been actively engaged in exploiting oil shale on a significant scale and accounts for 70% of the world's processed oil shale. In 2005, Estonia mined 14.8 million tonnes of oil shale. During the same period, mining permits were issued for almost 24 million tonnes, with applications for mining an additional 26 million tonnes. Estonia has adopted the "National Development Plan for the Use of Oil Shale 2008-2015", which limits the annual mining of oil shale to 20 million tonnes.

Companies involved in oil shale mining are Eesti Põlevkivi, Viru Keemia Grupp, Kiviõli Keemiatööstus and Kunda Nordic Cement.

Oil shale (or kukersite) and limestone deposits, along with forests which cover 47% of the land, play key economic roles in this generally resource-poor country. In 1994, Estonia became one of the first countries in the world to adopt a flat tax, with a uniform rate of 26% regardless of personal income. In January 2005 the personal income tax rate was reduced to 24%. A subsequent reduction to 23% followed in January 2006. The income tax rate will be decreased by 1% annually to reach 18% by January 2010. The Government of Estonia finalized the design of Estonia's euro coins in late 2004, and is now intending to adopt the euro as the country's currency between 2011 and 2013, later than planned due to continued high inflation. In 1999, Estonia experienced its worst year economically since it regained independence in 1991, largely because of the impact of the August 1998 Russian financial crisis. Estonia joined the WTO in November 1999. With assistance from the European Union, the World Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank, Estonia completed most of its preparations for European Union membership by the end of 2002 and now has one of the strongest economies of the new member states of the European Union.

Oil shale (or kukersite) and limestone deposits, along with forests which cover 47% of the land, play key economic roles in this generally resource-poor country. In 1994, Estonia became one of the first countries in the world to adopt a flat tax, with a uniform rate of 26% regardless of personal income. In January 2005 the personal income tax rate was reduced to 24%. A subsequent reduction to 23% followed in January 2006. The income tax rate will be decreased by 1% annually to reach 18% by January 2010. The Government of Estonia finalized the design of Estonia's euro coins in late 2004, and is now intending to adopt the euro as the country's currency between 2011 and 2013, later than planned due to continued high inflation. In 1999, Estonia experienced its worst year economically since it regained independence in 1991, largely because of the impact of the August 1998 Russian financial crisis. Estonia joined the WTO in November 1999. With assistance from the European Union, the World Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank, Estonia completed most of its preparations for European Union membership by the end of 2002 and now has one of the strongest economies of the new member states of the European Union.
 

Oil shale industry

Although the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily the air is polluted with sulphur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast Estonia due the mining industry which was created by the Soviets in early 1950s. In 2000 the emissions were 80% smaller than in 1980 and the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies was one twentieth the level of 1980. With the start-up of new water purification plants the pollution load of wastewater has decreased. Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and man-made lakes. The coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations, mainly in East-Estonia.One of the main goals of long-term national development programme of fuel and energy management and goal programme of energy saving is the reduction of environmental impacts. The main tasks in the area are to raise the efficiency of energy production and transport and to use more environment-friendly fuels and reduce special consumption of energy in all branches of economy and households. There are plans to establish new power stations and to provide higher efficiency in oil shale based energy production with the concurrent and significant reduction of the harmful environmental impact via the renovation of combustion technology.

Narva Oil Plant

Narva Oil Plant (Estonian: Narva Õlitehas), a subsidiary of Eesti Energia, is a producer of shale oil from oil shale. It operates a commercial scale shale oil retorting plant, located in Narva, Estonia.

The oil shale retorting plant (the UTT-3000 refinery) was built in the late 1970s next to the Eesti Power Plant to provide shale oil as a start-up fuel for the power plants. The plant was commissioned in 1980. Since beginning of 1990s, the oil plant operated as a part of the Narva Power Plants. In September 2007, the oil plant was separated from the power plants and the separate subsidiary of Essti Energia was established.
 

The retorting plant consists of two modified Galoter type solid heat carrier retorts (Enefit retort)—both processing 125 tonnes per hour of oil shale. This is the only commercial scale shale oil plant in the world, which is using the Galoter technology. Main products are fuel grade shale oil, raw material for bitumen and antiseptics.The designed annual capacity of the plant is 220,000 tons of shale oil and 60 million cubic meters of retort gas.

In May 2009, Eesti Energia announced that it plans to build a new shale oil plant with processing capacity of 2.26 million tonnes of oil shale per year. It would produce 290,000 tonnes of shale oil and 75 million cubic meters of oil shale gas per year. The cost of the new oil plant is approximately 3 billion Estonian kroons (US$264.2 million). The construction was launched in the second half of 2009, and it is expected to be commissioned in 2012.