兰州市和西宁市是中国西部最为重要的经济圈之一,这2座城市之间有生成联系的中新生代盆地(民和盆地和西宁盆地)不仅赋存有良好的煤炭资源,而且蕴藏着较为丰富的油页岩资源。现已查明,该地区油页岩预测资源量至少约30亿t,折合页岩油约2亿t,现已探明油页岩资源量为5亿t,折合页岩油0.3亿t;该区油页岩主要赋存于中侏罗统,与煤共生,油页岩矿区构造简单,原型盆地经恢复为一侏罗纪内陆山间沉积盆地。油页岩宏观上呈黑色,略具油脂光泽,硬度较小,质量较好,厚度一般5~30 m,含油率一般为7%~9%,发热量一般为3.64~10.49M J/kg。指出该经济圈油页岩矿区交通便利,如果能将煤的开发和油页岩的利用结合起来,会取得事半功倍的效果。

Prospecting and utilization of oil shale resources,now,have already excited wide attention.The area of Lanzhou and Xining is most impotant economic area in the west of China and contained abundant resources of both oil shale and coal in here(Xining basin and Minhe basin).Investigating result indicates that forecast resources of oil shale amounts to 30×10~-8 t(to convert into shale oil is 1.8×10~-8 t) and identified resource of oil shale amounts to 5×10~-8(to convert into shale oil is 0.3×10~-8 t).