IEI's In-situ conversion process (ICP) avoids the problems associated with above ground retorting, including mining, handling, and disposing of large quantities of material. Slow ICP heating holds another key advantage: the shale oil products generated are of a superior quality and cleaner than crude oil, requiring less upgrading.

Environmental advantages of ICP

• Does not require vast mining over vast areas. It uses relatively small areas temporarily. Horizontal drillings techniques allow extraction from a large volume of sub surface oil shale while using only a small surface area.
• Leaves the extraction area in its original state once the extraction has ended.
• Can generate fresh water through desalination.
• Lowers CO² emissions – the carbon is left in its solid phase as part of the rock therefore reducing CO² emissions during oil combustion.
• Substantially reduces the amount of solid waste and waste water compared to the ex-situ methods.
•  Captures the gases emitted by sub surface operations in designated facilities for further treatment. In the ex-situ approach gases (e.g., H²S, NOx, etc.) are released into the atmosphere.
   

Improved Economics of ICP

• Generates more oil and gas from smaller surface footprint - allows higher utilization rates of the organic matter compared to ex-situ.
• Accesses deeper oil shale resource in an environmentally responsible way. In-situ retorting can recover oil shale deposits inaccessible to surface mining.
• Yields high quality transportation fuels that require less refining. The slow heating process of in-situ retorting produces higher quality fuel products than both the ex-situ approach and conventional crude oil extraction.
• Utilizes any one of several heating sources including electricity, natural gas and renewable energy such as solar.