Changing the carbon footprints of unconventional oils. Unlocking americas natural gas, july 19, 2010, page 4. Introduction shale oil light tight oil is rapidly emerging as a significant, and relatively low cost, unconventional energy resource. The structure of technological revolutions conclusion endnotes contents 1 3 6 6 8. One important conclusion is that the price competitiveness of electricity produced from shale oil, and also by direct combustion of oil shale, is very sensitive to the price attributed to co 2 emissions. We would also like to acknowledge the government of alberta regarding earlier playbased assessments related to technology challenges and opportunities in duvernay and cardium shale gas and tight oil regions as being catalysts for the development of this report.
Based on different ways of heating, this paper introduces the technological process and. Aug 08, 2019 hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, opened up more natural gas for production, but the technology added costs to the oil extraction process. It must be processed by a technique known as retorting, wherein the rock is heated to release crude shale oil, shale gas and water. Determine the areal extent of the shale formations within the basin and estimate its overall thickness, in. Overview of the worlds commercial oil shale retorting technologies. Mining oil shale can be either surface mining or in situ retorting.
Development, technology, and policy issues congressional research service 2 gas shale development takes place on both private and state lands. Natural gas, the cleanestburning fossil fuel is vital to the worlds energy future. Hydrocarbons are substances made entirely of hydrogen and carbon. But unlike with the gushing fields of the middle east, extracting oil from shale is like trying to squeeze. Pdf future of oil shale mining technology in estonia ain. Shale oil processing is defined as an industrial process to which raw shale oil is subjected to extract oil from itbasically a process to produce unconventional oil 1. The rand corporations 2005 research analysis found that conventional mining followed by surface retorting offered technically viable options for developing oil shale, but noted that existing operations. Pdf on jul 1, 1974, edward werner cook and others published oilshale technology in the usa find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are less expensive to extract. Oil companies produce shale oil by fracturing the rock formations that contain the layers of oil. High fuel prices andor price volatility can impede this progress. Jan 08, 2019 as a result, us shale producers adjusted exploration and extraction techniques to weather the turmoil of low oil prices and saudi oil market policies prior to the vienna agreement.
Hydraulic fracturing fracking technology has enabled oil and gas producers to tap reserves in shale formations across north america. The differences between oil shale, shale oil, and shale gas. Technically recoverable shale oil and shale gas resources. This presents a detailed discussion of oil shale retorting technology. And without cuttingedge water treatment technology, the water discharge from oil shale refining will increase salinity in surrounding water, poisoning the local area source. American petroleum institute, freeing up energy hydraulic fracturing. In the future, oil shale mining conditions will worsen and environmental taxes will be increased. Shale oil february 20 1 executive summary shale oil light tight oil is rapidly emerging as a significant and relatively low cost new unconventional resource in the us. This combination of fracking and horizontal drilling has made it commercially viable to recover more oil and natural gas from shale. Shell s principles for producing tightshale oil and gas.
Its abundant throughout much of the country, making it a secure source of domestic energy that enables refi ners to do more accurate long. This report presents an updated assessment of the viability of developing oil shale resources in the united. Pdf on jul 1, 2014, pawan r ingole and others published oil shale. It takes two barrels of water to produce one barrel of oil shale liquid source. The oil shale industry is an industry of mining and processing of oil shalea finegrained sedimentary rock, containing significant amounts of kerogen a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds, from which liquid hydrocarbons can be manufactured. They must be delivered to users and the markets at competitive prices that encourage economic growth. Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil production.
Energy information administration 0 5 10 15 20 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2020 2030 2040 2020 2030 2040. Studies indicate that the shale gas produced is sufficient to supply a large portion of the heat needed for oil shale retorting. Oil shale, shale oil and shale gas are all related to these new, unconventional methods of accessing the earths oil and natural gas reserves. Nitrogen oxides are one of the major environmental problems arising from fossil fuels combustion. And the current economics of oil are spurring a technological transfor mation of petroleum.
Research on insitu oil shale mining technology ijpsi. Marcellus, utica, haynesville, woodford, barnett, fayetteville length. This factsheet describes some of the most common techniques and technologies to shale gas and oil development. Australia, brazil, switzerland, sweden, spain, and south africa began mining oil shale in the 19th and 20th centuries, but they all stopped production by the 1960s. Apr, 2020 press release shale oil market 2020 by technology, opportunity analysis and industry forecasts 2024 published.
The fact that much of the best shale is located on federal land is examined in light of the desire to increase use of the resources. Any technology to produce shale oil includes mining, heat treatmentalso known as retortingto extract the oil, and oil upgrading. Haynesville shale gas production is bouncing back, 912218 u. Introduction this report describes the findings of a verification assessment conducted by ehp of environmental performance of oil shale processing carried out by qer at its mining lease on the stuart oil shale deposit near gladstone. Oil shale is an organicrich finegrained sedimentary rock containing kerogen a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced, called shale oil not to be confused with tight oil crude oil occurring naturally in shales. Pdf oilshale technology in the usa edward werner cook. In addition to covering the characteristics of oil shale, oil shale technology summarizes the physical and chemical properties of shale oil obtained from various deposits around the world. The intense heat releases oil vapours from the rock, which liquefy in a series of condensers. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, opened up more natural gas for production, but the technology added costs to the oil extraction process. Jul 01, 20 crude shale oil, shale gas and water are produced from insitu retorts.
The oil coming out of the shale is referred to as shale oil. Saxs, and measurement of the atomic pairwise distribution function pdf via. These estimates are uncertain given the relatively sparse data that currently exist. Shale oil is light, lowviscosity, and low in sulfur, making it desirable to process. Shale oil is the product of the thermal reaction and decomposition of kerogen present in oil shales. David hughes is an earth scientist who has studied the energy resources of canada for four decades, including 32. Petroleum and natural gas are probably the most familiar hydrocarbons.
Since the early 1980s, oil shale has not been on the u. Oil shale is a type of sedimentary rock that is rich in kerogen. We follow global operating principles focused on safety, environmental safeguards, and engagement with nearby communities to unlock resources safely and responsibly. Definition sedimentary rock with a high organic content organic matter is known as kerogen kerogen. Technology and efficiency gains create a new normal for.
The increase in shale oil and gas production in the united states follows many years of investment and research carried out by the federal government. It has helped produced more than 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 7 billion barrels of oil. Processing oil shale unlike conventional petroleum, shale oil cannot be pumped directly from the ground. As a result, us shale producers adjusted exploration and extraction techniques to weather the turmoil of low oil prices and saudi oilmarket policies prior to the vienna agreement. The term oil shale is commonly used when referring to unconventional oil, but it can be misleading. The liquid oil extracted from oil shale, once it is upgraded, creates a type of synthetic crude oil. Pdf oil shale, also known as kerogen shale, is an organicrich finegrained sedimentary rock containing kerogen a solid mixture of organic chemical.
In texas, where similar gas shale development takes place, the rates are generally higher. Sohrab zendehboudi phd, alireza bahadori phd, ceng, in shale oil and gas handbook, 2017. The crude shale oil produced is a quality that requires less upgrading than oil from most exsitu processes, but recoveries are somewhat less. Oil shale presents environmental challenges as well. The influence of the retorting process on the properties of the resulting oil shale is discussed, as are standardized techniques for determining these. Processing can be accomplished by mining the oil shale and retorting it on the surface, called. There is potential for shale oil production to spread globally over the next couple of decades. The economics and finances of establishing an industry of various sizes are analyzed. Oil shale processing an overview sciencedirect topics.
The us becomes the largest gas producer in the world and the. Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil. Resource estimates change as extraction technologies improve, as markets evolve, and as oil and. The hydrocarbons in oil shale can be used as an alternative to petroleum or natural gas. Mar 10, 2014 the final piece of the puzzle to kicking off the shale revolution and the next step in the fracking evolution was to combine these advancements in fracking technology with horizontal drilling techniques.
Under present technology the oil is recovered by either of two processes. Technology status assessment utah geological survey 5 will provide 1 improved and detailed reservoir characterization of the grf tight oil plays in the uinta basin and the paradox formation shale oil plays in particular the cane creek shale in the paradox. Shale drilling site in pennsylvania photo helge hansen statoil. How long will the shale revolution last technology. Kerogen is a part of rock that breaks down and releases hydrocarbons when heated. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. Pdf the upgrading of shale oil is one of the new technologies of top industries in the world. Shale oil costs more than conventional oil to extract.
Oct 20, 2019 hydraulic fracturing fracking technology has enabled oil and gas producers to tap reserves in shale formations across north america. Pdf future of oil shale mining technology in estonia. Shale oil market 2020 by technology, opportunity analysis and. While oil and gas fuels are essential for the united states and the global economy, they also pose challenges. To make the oil shale production process resilient against low priced conventional crude oil, there is a long list of tasks to tackle, from mining technology 9, retorting technology 5, added. The technology for extraction of products from oil shale can be insitu underground heating or exsitu processing done above the ground. Press release shale oil market 2020 by technology, opportunity analysis and industry forecasts 2024 published. This is a systematic presentation of the production and development of the oil shale industry in china. Mar 28, 2015 crude shale oil to synthetic crudecrude shale oil to synthetic crude sulfur andsulfur and nitrogen must benitrogen must be removedremoved hydrotreating,hydrotreating, hydrocracking,hydrocracking, and delayedand delayed cokingcoking crude shale oil crude petroleum ch ratio 1. Hydraulic fracturing technology can safely unlock gas resources trapped tightly in tiny rock spaces. Shale oil market 2020 by technology, opportunity analysis. Shale oil is a highquality crude oil that lies between layers of shale rock, impermeable mudstone, or siltstone.
Any technology to produce shale oil includes mining, heat treatmentalso known as. Planning committee, and tight oil and shale gas innovation network steering committee. Energy information administration technically recoverable shale oil and shale gas resources 4 ahead of time. Extracting and processing shale oil is an expensive and difficult process. The resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing sulfur and nitrogen impurities shale oil extraction is usually performed. Higher calorific value and more homogeneous material are required for more effective usage of boilers and generator units in power stations and oil. Jan 31, 2020 shale oil is a highquality crude oil that lies between layers of shale rock, impermeable mudstone, or siltstone. Technically recoverable shale oil and shale gas resources 6 2. Oxyfuel combustion is one of the most promising clean coal technologies for pulverized fuelfired power plants to control and avoid co 2 emissions. A study on the eu oil shale industry viewed in the light of. Department of oil shale technology tallinn university of technology 85 the former oil shale research institute has participated in working out the following products shale oil fuel for small boilers and bunkering epoxy resin arem220 used in adhesive compositions, mastics and coating compositions. If you have any questions about issues, please report us to resolve them. Oil shale, any sedimentary rock containing various amounts of solid organic material that yields petroleum products, along with a variety of solid byproducts, when subjected to pyrolysisa treatment that consists of heating the rock to above 300 c about 575 f in the absence of oxygen.
Most federal oil shale is closed to development despite the growing need for new sources of oil supply. The resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing sulfur and nitrogen. Royalty rates, rents, and signing bonuses paid to state and private landowners vary. Because shale oil exists as solid sedimentary rocks, its extraction is more complex than.
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