This research represents an extension of the Buffalo Trace Area Development District Study (BTADD) of the potential for commercial oil shale development in northeastern Kentucky (Lewis and Fleming Counties). This study concluded that a shale oil industry, based on eastern oil shales was economically feasible. In addition, it highlighted areas requiring further research. These include the need for: (1) additional oil shale resource assessment, and (2) a better understanding of the fundamental retorting properties of eastern oil shale. To further elucidate the physical and chemical trends found in Lewis and Fleming Counties, the resource assessment for this project was extended to the five counties south of Lewis and Fleming: Rowan, Bath, Montgomery, Powell and Estill. The components of this work included stratigraphy and chemistry of the oil shales, identification and correlation of high carbon zones of potential economic interest, and the calculation of high grade shale resources by mining category. The processing technology examined in the previous study was a modification of the Paraho indirect mode retort, which was originally developed for western US oil shale. Western oil shale differs from eastern in terms of gross chemical composition (eastern oil shales are silicates, western are primarily carbonates) and also in terms of the nature of their kerogen (eastern oil shales produce relatively more coke and potentially more gas upon retorting). These differences make obvious the need to examine the fundamental retorting properties of eastern oil shales. To this end, a bench-scale retorting system was built. This equipment was used to determine the impact of such parameters as heating rate and sweep-gas flow-rate upon oil yield. 92 references, 17 figures, 20 tables.