The rich oil shale deposits on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains constitute a potential source of fuel several times as great as the identified reserves of U.S. oil, and processes for extracting synthetic crude oil from the thick seams of brown-black rock have been ready to go for 15 years technologically, the production of synthetic crude oil from shale is a simple process. When the shale is crushed and heated to 480supO C, raw shale oil is released. Because it does not require special mineral preparation, high pressures, or difficult catalytic procedures, the process of oil shale recovery is easier than either coal gasification or coal liquefaction. Until October 1973, the principal limitation to oil shale recovery was its price, which was projected by the National Petroleum Council to be about $5.50 per barrel.