Shale oil extraction methods pdf

However, the production of unconventional oil is increasing due to rising demand for fossil fuels and falling reserves of conventionals the unconventional oil revolution has drastically changed the world energy landscape. Unesco eolss sample chapters coal, oil shale, natural bitumen, heavy oil and peat vol. Regardless of these quality benefits, shale oil tends to be discounted in the market, because it offers the poor characteristics of ocs. Different methods produce shale oil with different properties.

American petroleum institute, freeing up energy hydraulic fracturing. Figure 11 hydraulic fracturing fracking used to release oil and natural gas from a stratum of shale. Unconventional oil refers to hydrocarbons that are obtained through techniques other than traditional vertical well extraction. Us7921907b2 in situ method and system for extraction of oil. The in situ combustion process is used for extracting shale oil from far below the surface. Because shale oil exists as solid sedimentary rocks, its extraction is more complex than. Recent trends in 011 shale part 2 mlnlng and shale 011 extraction processes. It was used to light the streets of modena, italy at the turn of the 17th century. First method is a cracking process named as surface retorting used to break down the kerogen by heating it in absence of oxygen to release hydrocarbons and produce low molecular weight products such as nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur. Shale oil costs more than conventional oil to extract. This process involves exposure to pyrolysis producing a chemical change to a substance by applying extreme heat. This process is more complex and capitalintensive than conventional oil extraction. A 1984 study estimated the eroei of the various known oilshale deposits as varying between 0. Study of oil and gas extraction wastewater management.

The gap between the lining of the borehole that has been drilled and the surrounding rock is then sealed up with concrete to provide a secure route for the extraction of the gas and oil. Shale oil is a hugely untapped resource that has been mined and processed since the 1800s. Oil shale processing an overview sciencedirect topics. Eia adds new play production data to shale gas and tight oil. Definition sedimentary rock with a high organic content organic matter is known as kerogen kerogen. The epa currently regulates discharges of oil and gas wastewater under the oil and gas extraction effluent limitations guidelines and pretreatment standards elgs found at 40 cfr part 435. Two methods of in situ oil shale retorting have been tested. Unconventional oil may simply refer to tight oil where the sediments. Welltowheel ghg estimates for oil shale are based on demonstration and test project data.

The pyrolysis of the rock is performed in a retort, situated either above ground or within the rock formation itself. According to the world energy outlook 2010, the eroei of exsitu processing is typically 4 to 5 while of insitu processing it may be even as low as 2. Opencast mining is a costeffective and productive solution. Speight encyclopedia of life support systems eolss hand, the api gravity of heavy oil. A critical measure of the viability of extraction of shale oil lies in the ratio of the energy produced by the oil shale to the energy used in its mining and processing, a ratio known as energy returned on energy invested. The british crown granted a patent in 1694 to three persons. Relative to conventional oil, however, the production quantities have been low. Shale oil and gas originate within shale formations or plays composed of finegrained sedimentary rocks.

Without a concerted policymaking effort, these investments will likely continue to flow disproportionately toward unconventional oil. Eia recently updated its methodology and production volume estimates for u. According to the international energy agency, there are about 1 trillion barrels of economically recoverable shale oil resources, compared to 1. This newer type of fracking is far more risky than older fracking techniques previously used in the gas industry. What shale oil exploration and production methods are used. In order for shale oil production to begin, the most prospective areas must be first proposed and identified. One is to mine it like the rock it is and then heat it in the lowoxygen environment needed to turn the kerogen into. From extraction through final use, these new oils will require a greater amount of energy to. Sand pumped in with the fluids often water helps to keep the. However, extracting oil from the shale is no simple task. Technologies for oil shale production include surface and insitu retorting. However, state rules vary considerably, leading to calls for more federal oversight of unconventional oil and gas extraction activities and hydraulic fracturing specifically.

The us becomes the largest gas producer in the world and the. Fracking for shale and tight gas is an extremely waterintensive practice. Ii extraction technologies for natural bitumen and heavy oil james g. Background shale oil is one of the first sources of mineral oil used by humans. Extracting shale oil from oil shale is costlier than the production of. Unlocking americas natural gas, july 19, 2010, page 4. The following are the methods of development of oil shale deposits as a solid fuel. The most common method of extracting shale oil is by surface mining. Hydraulic fracturing used in the extraction of this resource requires a large volume of water and generates vast quantities of highly contaminated wastewater, i. With such abundant planes of land stretching from the coral sea to the indian ocean, there is much to be discovered of australias. The process of extracting shale oil is much more difficult than the process of extracting liquid crude oil from conventional wells. After the process of extraction is complete, oil shale undergoes a process known as retorting.

This is the resource of estonian oil shale industry. The term oil shale is commonly used when referring to unconventional oil, but it can be misleading. Oil shale research in the united states 5 september 2011 third edition foreword significant research efforts continue in the united states to address some of the technical, economic, and policy uncertainties that constrain the development of americas enormous oil shale resource. Companies involved in the extraction and production of shale oil and gas are not the only companies benefitting from this industry. Supercritical water extraction and characterization of. The estimated total available shale gas resources within our study area are 386 bcm baranzelli et al.

Current shale gas and oil exploration is restricted to these areas. In the shale oil upgrading treatment, catalyst has a great impact on the final hc ratio of shale oil. Two oil wells drilling image 1 describes two methods for extracting shale gas the north american industry classification system naics classifies this industry subsector under the parent grouping mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction naics 21. The true in situ method consists of fracturing, retorting, and recovering the products through the use of boreholes from the surface. Aug 08, 2019 hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, opened up more natural gas for production, but the technology added costs to the oil extraction process. 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.

Shale oil exploration and production methods info shale. Figure 2 shows the shale oil and gas plays in the u. An overview of shale oil presentation pdf available. After excavation, the oil shale must undergo retorting. Oil shale extraction methods are expensive the economics of oil shale extraction are an impediment to its commercial production. In unconventional reservoirs, natural gas or oil is extracted using two major techniques in. First method is a cracking process named as surface retorting used to break down the kerogen by heating it in absence of oxygen to release hydrocarbons and produce low molecular weight. In order for oil shale production to be profitable, the industry must overcome technical, environmental, regulatory, and economic obstacles. For more information about shale oil and gas and fracking, visit the govuk website. Changing the carbon footprints of unconventional oils. A study on the eu oil shale industry viewed in the light of. Alternative technologies for oil shale liquefaction and upgrading pdf. The shale revolution started with gas extraction around the year 2000 but decreasing gas prices became a driver for the development of tight oil.

The process of heating oil shale to the pyrolysis temperature can be achieved by direct or indirect heating. This investi gation suggests the application of a novel technique, namely. Shale oil extraction methods are more flexible than traditional oil well drilling. A study on the eu oil shale industry viewed in the light. Jan 31, 2020 shale oil extraction methods are more flexible than traditional oil well drilling.

What is shale oil and why is it damaging to the environment. Shale oil is extracted from the oil shale by thermal extracting methods. 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. Aug 06, 2015 video explaining shale gas and hydraulic fracturing fracking. For onshore oil and gas producers, except west of the 98th meridian. Resource recovery and reuse for hydraulic fracturing. Oil shale oil shale is a negrained sedimentary rock containing a solid material kerogen that converts to liquid oil when heated.

Extracting shale oil from oil shale is costlier than the production of conventional crude oil both financially and in terms of its environmental impact. Oil shale is mined with the help of underground or surfacemining methods. Extraction of oil and gas from unconventional shale reservoirs that started in the u. Oil shale, shale oil and shale gas are all related to these new, unconventional methods of accessing the earths oil and natural gas reserves. A system and process for extracting hydrocarbons from a subterranean body of oil shale within an oil shale deposit located beneath an overburden. Shale oil is extracted by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution of oil shale. Oct 20, 2019 two methods have been developed to extract petroleum products from oil shale. The extracted shale oil then undergoes pyrolysis at 842 to 932f 450 to 500c to produce oil shale synthetic crude oil, shale gas and residue solid. Scw has several potential applications, including extracting oil from oil shale lumps 27 and the. Many methods have been used for extracting shale oil from oil shale. The initial drilling only accounts for 40% of the total cost. Shale drilling site in pennsylvania photo helge hansen statoil. Nahcolite is distributed widely in the basin center see figs. From 2007 to 2019, innovation in shale production brought an eightfold increase in extraction productivity for natural gas and a nineteenfold increase for oil.

Impact of shale gas development on water resources. As of 2008, most oil shale industries perform the shale oil extraction process after the rock is mined, crushed and transported to a retorting facility, although several experimental. Extraction technologies for natural bitumen and heavy oil. Oil shale refers to rock that has kerogen, a precursor to oil, stored in it. Comparison of heating methods for insitu oil shale extraction. Understanding shale oil and the controversial practice of frackington 720p duration.

Tar sands are mined and processed to extract bitumen, which is then refined into oil. The athabasca oil sands representing about 80% of canadas bitumen reserves also happens to be the only one shallow enough to lend itself to surface mining, which, as we will see, is the primary method for removing oil sands. After the excavation phase, the oil shale must undergo retorting. Extraction of shale and tight gas requires high volume, slickwater hydraulic fracturing and usually involves horizontal drilling. There is potential for shale oil production to spread globally over the next couple of decades. Wastewater management for shale hydrocarbon extraction. The system comprises an energy delivery subsystem to heat the body of oil shale and a hydrocarbon gathering subsystem for gathering hydrocarbons retorted from the body of oil shale. Shale oil extraction is usually performed above ground ex situ processing by mining the oil shale and then treating it in processing facilities. An assessment of oil shale technologies part 7 of 18. Government of alberta, canada there are two primary extraction methods for tar sands. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution.

Oil shale research in the united states 2011 draft2. Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil production. Oil shale must be mined using either underground or surfacemining methods. Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil. Sohrab zendehboudi phd, alireza bahadori phd, ceng, in shale oil and gas handbook, 2017. Provisions of several federal environmental laws can apply to certain activities related to oil and. The industry has never operated at a profitable level, and the sheer size of the. Since the early 1980s, oil shale has not been on the u. The results for each type of oil shale show that the extraction yield depends differently on the nature of the solvent table 1. Shale gas and oil production and prospective development are increasing, but methods for shale extraction fracking have been met with opposition.

With such abundant planes of land stretching from the coral sea to the indian. Questions and answers for shale gas, hydraulic fracturing of a reservoir is the preferred stimulation method see graphic below. Two tons of tar sands are required to produce one barrel of oil. This study focusses on insitu oil shale production methodologies. Oct 23, 2012 shale development and extraction in ohio ohiodnr. Valley, which has an extraction potential of around 1. Tight gas differs from shale gas in that it is trapped in sandstone or limestone, rather than shale formations. In oil shale, kerogen is tightly mixed with mineral matrix, however, in. Ghg emission factors for high carbon intensity crude oils. However, the opportunity shale gas brings also brings many ques tions yet unanswered, not least about its extraction method of hydraulic fracturing or fracking. On the other hand, extracting crude oil from rock is much more difficult. 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. Coal seam gas, shale and tight gas extraction methods.

This report presents an updated assessment of the viability of developing oil shale resources in the united. Oil shale deposits exist in 37 countries globally, but the largest and highest quality oil shale deposits are in sparsely populated areas. 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. Decc intend to grant a new round of licences in2015, the areas being offered are those shown in pink below. Shale gas extraction explained many believe the us is on the brink of a new industrial age, as it benefits from a recent energy boom. Oil shale must be first extracted from the ground with either underground or surfacemining methods. This is when the mined rock is exposed to the process of pyrolysis applying extreme heat without the presence of oxygen to a substance, and producing a chemical change. This research also enables oil shale well design recommendations for direct and indirect heating. Shale oil represents a huge additional global fossil fuel resource. The differences between oil shale, shale oil, and shale gas. This typically involves injecting pressurized fluids to stimulate or fracture shale formations and release the natural gas.

The choice of mining method is determined by the depth of the oil shale seam below the surface. The ability to produce natural gas from deep shale formations such as the marcellus shale at an economic scale is the result of a relatively recent, innovative combination of technologies that enable. Inplace oil shale resources in the salinemineral and. Here we look at the major components of hydraulic fracturing, its environmental implications, and its impact on the us and global economies.

An analysis of policy, pollutants and protests abstract australia is undoubtedly one of the most resourceful countries in the world. Characteristics of separation extraction methods used for pahs in solid matrices practice on oil shale combustion ash a test of different extractions on fly. The resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing sulfur and nitrogen. The first shale oil play to be exploited for oil extraction through modern horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing was the bakken formation. Brandt 2007 2010 provides the most extensive analysis of oil shale with a range of estimates.