Shell in situ conversion process
| Shell ICP | |
|---|---|
| Process type | chemical |
| Industrial sector(s) | chemical industry, oil industry |
| Feedstock | oil shale |
| Product(s) | shale oil |
| Leading companies | Shell Oil Company |
| Main facilities | Mahogany Research Project |
| Developer(s) | Shell Oil Company |
The Shell's in situ conversion process (Shell ICP) is an in situ shale oil extraction technology to convert kerogen in oil shale to shale oil. It is developed by the Shell Oil Company.
Contents
History
Shell's in situ conversion process has been under development since the early 1980s.[1] In 1997, the first small scale test was conducted on the Mahogany property, located 200 miles (320 km) west of Denver on Colorado's Western Slope in the Piceance Creek Basin. Since 2000, additional research and development activities have carried on as a part of the Mahogany Research Project.[2] The oil shale heating at Mahogany started early 2004.[3]
Process
The process heats sections of the vast oil shale field in situ, releasing the shale oil and oil shale gas from the rock so that it can be pumped to the surface and made into fuel. In this process, a freeze wall is first to be constructed to isolate the processing area from surrounding groundwater.[1] To maximize the functionality of the freeze walls, adjacent working zones will be developed in succession. 2,000 feet (610 m) wells, eight feet apart, are drilled and filled with a circulating super-chilled liquid to cool the ground to −60 °F (−50 °C).[4][5][6] Water is then removed from the working zone. Heating and recovery wells are drilled at 40 feet (12 m) intervals within the working zone. Electrical heating elements are lowered into the heating wells and used to heat oil shale to between 650 °F (340 °C) and 700 °F (370 °C) over a period of approximately four years.[4][2] Kerogen in oil shale is slowly converted into shale oil and gases, which are then flow to the surface through recovery wells.[4][5]
Energy consumption
An operation producing 100,000 barrels a day would require a dedicated power generating capacity of 1.2 gigawatts.[1] If this amount of electricity to be generated by coal-fired power plant, it would consume five million ton of coal annually.[7] Although this method is energy-intensive, it compares well to heavy oil projects such as oil sands development. Over the project life cycle, Shell estimates that for every unit of energy consumed, three to four units would be produced.[4][5] The Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI) is low compared to conventional crude oil extraction, however the heating process itself creates a byproduct of shale gas that can be used as the energy input.
Environmental impact
This in situ method requires minimum disturbance of the surface. Within the pyrolyzed zone the expected surface expressions of heave is about 1.0 to 1.5 inches (25 to 38 mm) and the expected surface expression of subsidence is about 0.5 to 1.0 inch (13 to 25 mm). The footprint of extraction operations is in comparison to conventional oil and gas drilling.[4][5] Extensive water use and the risk of groundwater pollution are the technology's greatest challenges.[8]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Script error
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Script error
- ↑ Spencer Reiss (2005-12-13). "Tapping the Rock Field". WIRED magazine. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.12/oilshale.html. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Script error
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Script error
- ↑ Script error
- ↑ Script error
- ↑ Script error
External links
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