A unitized management and development of the government-owned oil shale will make it technically and economically practical to obtain very large production rates (1 to 5 x 10sup6 bbl/day) of shale oil from this source. The estimated price is below world prices and could be less than $15/bbl. Private oil shale lands, on the other hand, provide a smaller though still important potential for production in terms of resource size and economic cost. Important differences exist in the nature of the oil-shale resource held by the government and that held by private companies. These differences are crucial not only in estimating production costs and incentives necessary for production but also in defining applicable technology.