Answer to "fuel crisis"

[TheMadHatter99]

As part of our academic program, everyone must complete an exhaustive project their senior year that demonstrates what they've learned over the course of their years of study. My roommate, a Mechanical Engineer whose focus is on nuclear matters, is currently in the process of designing a nuclear reactor whose purpose would be to heat up "shale oil" and thus produce crude oil ready for refinement. I haven't researched it much myself but from my conversations with him there is enough shale oil available for another 100+ years of use (at current usage levels), but no one is currently willing to make the substantial initial investment to begin to turn it into crude oil.

Anyways, I just thought some of you might be interested in his idea, especially considering it could mean the continuation of our beloved internal combustion V-8's.