Us shale oil dynamics in a low price environment iv executive summary us unconventional oil has proved to be more resilient than originally anticipated, and shale producers have been able to maintain production at relatively high levels through several months of low oil prices. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock into synthetic oil and gas. 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. Department of energy, does early investment in shale gas technology producing.
Surface mining is economically attractive for large, lowgrade ore deposits. It takes two barrels of water to produce one barrel of oil shale liquid source. Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. Energy sources energy consumption liquids 36 % coal 27 % natural gas 23 % renewables 9 % nuclear 5 % industry transportation residential and commercial building 50 % 30 % 20 % future tasks the increasing demand for energy is a megatrend. Osullivan,b and sergey paltseva abstract the emergence of u. It has helped produced more than 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 7 billion barrels of oil. Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil. This paper responds to these needs by describing the importance of shale gas in meeting the future energy needs of the united states u. 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. Oil shale presents environmental challenges as well. 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. The resulting oil can be used immediately as a fuel or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing impurities such as sulfur and nitrogen. Shale oil and gas are exactly the same product as oil. Resource categories when considering the market implications of abundant shale resources, it is important to distinguish between a.
In the 21 st century, the shale gas is a greatly potential unconventional gas resource, which can serve as an important complement to conventional energy sources, and can effectively alleviate the energy pressure of the world. Shale drilling site in pennsylvania photo helge hansen statoil. Extracting shale oil from oil shale is costlier than the production of. The resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing sulfur and nitrogen. This composition places shale in a category of sedimentary rocks known as mudstones. Most federal oil shale is closed to development despite the growing need for new sources of oil supply. Parallels are drawn between the processes available for recovering and using other fossil fuel sources, such as coal and tar sands, and oil shale. Comparative study and analysis of the development of shale. Other colors of shale are crushed and mixed with water to create clay. The units research and development efforts seek innovative solutions to improve performance and support responsible shale development.
Apco company for oil shale aljonoub company for oil shale owned by the armed forces and the marvol management company for the exploitation of in nadyya area using russian technology. 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. Chevron has established a technology unit focused exclusively on solving the technical challenges of shale and tight rock formations. Oil shale production however, continued to grow in estonia, russia and china. Overview of the worlds commercial oil shale retorting technologies. Contents executive summary 2 shale in the us 4 the story so far beyond the united states 6 global shale oil scenarios 8 the bigger picture 12. Shale oil is a highquality crude oil that lies between layers of shale rock, impermeable mudstone, or siltstone. Unlocking americas natural gas, july 19, 2010, page 4. Shale is a finegrained sedimentary rock that forms from the compaction of silt and claysize mineral particles that we commonly call mud. Processing oil shale unlike conventional petroleum, shale oil cannot be pumped directly from the ground.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, opened up more natural gas for production, but the technology added costs to the oil extraction process. An assessment of oil shale technologies part 7 of 18. The lower limit of the oil yield for an oil shale to be considered potentially economic now ranges between 10 and 15 gal of shale oil per ton, but the development of new mining and processing technology for the oil shale or a substantial increase of the price of oil may make oil. Neither tech nique has yet been applied to the oil shales of the green river formation. Changing the carbon footprints of unconventional oils. Introduction shale oil light tight oil is rapidly emerging as a significant, and relatively low cost, unconventional energy resource. Shale is a rock that has been formed from the compression of mud over time.
American petroleum institute, freeing up energy hydraulic fracturing. And the current economics of oil are spurring a technological transfor mation of petroleum. Technically recoverable shale oil and shale gas resources. An assessment of 7 shale formations in 41 countries outside the united states. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. Pdf 30 years of the journal oil shale researchgate. Whether we wish it to be so or not, we shall soon be forced to resort to the oil shales for our supply of oil. This is essentially oil trapped in solid form within rock. Geology and resources of some world oilshale deposits. In the past, the oil and gas industry considered gas locked in tight, impermeable shale uneconomical to produce.
Breakthrough in shale oil extraction technology triples. Pdf the first number of the journal oil shale was released in april 1984. Economics, barriers, and risks of oil shale development in the united states khosrow biglarbigi, president, intek incorporated, 2300 clarendon boulevard ste. The potential of an oil shale as a source of energy depends on the economic recoverability of oil and gas from it. I am tired of hearing about the unbelievable impact of technology on collapsing u. One of the more promising reserves of oil that hasnt been commercially exploited yet is oil shale. And without cuttingedge water treatment technology, the water discharge from oil shale refining will increase salinity in surrounding water, poisoning the local area source. Following the 1973 oil crisis, the oil shale industry was restarted in several countries, but in the 1980s, when oil prices fell, many industries faced closure.
Crude shale oil, shale gas and water are produced from insitu retorts. This working paper should not be reported as representing the views of the european central bank ecb. Four specific areas of concern dominate discussion regarding development of the resource. Whats new in shale technology weatherford has developed a lowercost fueling solution for shale field operations, with its df ramforce, a pumping unit powered by a 2,500hp caterpillar cat. We are using advanced technology developed and refined over 60 years to safely unlock resources of natural gas trapped tightly inside dense rock in extremely fine pores. The consequences of shale development in terms of impact on the physical and social envi. They range in age from cambrian to tertiary and were formed in a variety of marine, continental, and lacustrine depositional environments. Breakthrough in shale oil extraction technology triples production. Due to competition from cheap conventional petroleum in the 1980s, several investments became economically unfeasible.
Dyni abstract oilshale deposits are in many parts of the world. Because oil and gas are produced by heating oil shale and because. Shale technology is getting better faster than alternative energy tech and the saudis know it and we are only at the beginning of the shale oil revolution. Pdf on jul 1, 2014, pawan r ingole and others published oil shale. Shale is distinguished from other mudstones because it is fissile and laminated. It must be processed by a technique known as retorting, wherein the rock is heated to release crude shale oil, shale gas and water. Some black shale contains organic compounds that can be converted to oil or natural gas.
Advancing systems and technologies to produce cleaner fuels oil and gas in the energy economy of the united states fossil fuel resources account for 82% of total u. Houston reuters shale oil engineer oscar portillo spends his days drilling as many as five wells at. The oil market in the age of shale oil european central bank. The production of oil from shales has a potentially serious impact on the environment. Todays technology helps us reduce our environmental footprint, cut down the number of drilled wells, and lower costs. Oil shale the underground supply of oil cannot much longer be depended upon to supply the ever increasing demand,pointing unerringly to the one permanent supply of the raw material which we have the deposits of oil shale.
Processing can be accomplished by mining the oil shale and retorting it on the surface, called. Geology and resources of some world oilshale deposits1 by john r. The development of shale gas in the usa is in the developing stage with advanced exploitation technology and huge reserves. However, advances in directional well drilling and reservoir stimulation have dramatically increased gas production from unconventional shales. 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 oilcrude oil occurring naturally in shales. World production of oil shale reached a peak of 46 million tonnes in 1980. The economics and finances of establishing an industry of various sizes are analyzed. Chevrons technology for the recovery and upgrading of oil from shale crush process is an insitu conversion process. Eiaari world shale gas and shale oil resource assessment 14 concluding thoughts and next steps the june 20 world shale gas and shale oil resource assessment is the second step on a pathway toward a more rigorous understanding of the location and quality of the shale resource. It also presents a summary of regulations applicable to the natural gas production. 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. Shale oil costs more than conventional oil to extract. Studies indicate that the shale gas produced is sufficient to supply a large portion of the heat needed for oil shale retorting. 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.
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