One commercial concept is to combine a set of parallel heating and production wells to create a panel of retorts roughly 2000-feet square, as shown in the third figure.
The panels would be separated by a relatively thin strip of unheated shale that would create a permeability barrier between the panels. Wells would be drilled from a 200-ft-wide drilling corridor, which would enable the shale to be accessed with only about 10% surface disturbance.
We estimate that roughly 100,000 barrels per day of premium shale oil could be produced for 25-30 years from such panels with a total surface disturbance of only one square mile. This is more oil than is currently produced from the entire state of Colorado.
