Batch thermal solution of Hell's Hole Canyon oil shale in hydrocarbon solvents has been studied at temperatures of from 274/sup 0/ to 410/sup 0/C. Three solvents were used: cyclohexane; 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene; and creosote oil. In 24-hour, constant-temperature runs under autogenous pressure, each solvent was found to be capable of removing over 90% of the original organic material at extraction temperatures of from 360 to 375/sup 0/C. Cyclohexane extraction resulted in somewhat greater yields than tetralin extraction in runs below 365/sup 0/C but approximately the same yields as tetralin at higher extraction temperatures. With one oil shale sample, virtually identical yields were observed in both cyclohexane and tetralin extractions. This finding suggests that mass-transfer restrictions within some oil shales may restrict the yield regardless of the solvent used. Carbon-13 NMR analyses of the spent shales showed that the aromaticity of the residual organic material in tetralin-extracted shale increased slightly from the raw shale value of 0.27 and remained essentially constant at a value of 0.31 increased. In constant temperature runs of 24-hour duration, the aromaticity of an oil shale sample increased from the raw oil shale value of 0.17 to 0.28 after cyclohexane extraction at 326/sup 0/C, while a tetralin-extracted sample of the same oil shale had an aromaticity of only 0.20 after extraction at 321/sup 0/C. The nitrogen content of the cyclohexane extracts, which ranged from 1.58 to 2.24%, was comparable to that of values reported in the literature for shale oils. The tetralin extracts had somewhat lower nitrogen content, ranging from 0.58 to 1.95%. Extract nitrogen content generally increased with extraction temperature. 55 references, 58 figures, 22 tables.