The price of of a barrel of crude oil is in free fall. There was talk in both Forbes and Business Week about oil potentially falling below $10 a barrel-- thanks in no small part to Russia.
How much does 1 barrel of "oil shale" oil cost? $25? $30 $40 a barrel? Don't kid yourself, "oil shale" oil is EXPENSIVE. Besides, who the heck is going to buy it, given the falling price of "regular" oil? Why would Shell spend all this money extracting oil that (because of the price) no one will buy?
Time to wake up and smell the coffe: The fact of the matter is that companies get massive tax credits/breaks for this sort of "alternative fuel research" thing. Shell isn't doing this stuff for "the good of mankind"; more like the good of their bottom line-- and there's nothing wrong with that considering it was the Federal government that encouraged/encourages them.
At some point in the next 30 years, we will be extracting this oil as the Middle East goes into significant decline.