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Shell in situ conversion process

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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.

History

The Shell's in situ conversion process is developed since 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

File:Shell Freeze Wall Oil Shae.PNG
Shells Freeze Wall for in situ shale oil production

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] It should be noted, the "Freeze Wall" is in place specifically to isolate the "production Zone" from the surrounding aquifer, once production is completed within a zone, it is "washed" to remove any remnants of the process, and the water is replaced that was originally removed from the production zone, essentially preserving the ecology of the space.

{{cite source 

| author=Larry Posey
| title=Senior Manager of the Shell Mahogany Research Project, 

|date=2007-09-01

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Bartis, James T.; LaTourrette, Tom; Dixon, Lloyd; Peterson, D.J.; Cecchine, Gary (2005). Oil Shale Development in the United States. Prospects and Policy Issues. Prepared for the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the [[United States Department of Energy]] (PDF). The RAND Corporation. ISBN 978-0-8330-3848-7. Retrieved 2007-06-29. {{cite book}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  2. ^ a b Lee, Sunggyu; Speight, James G.; Loyalka, Sudarshan K. (2007). Handbook of Alternative Fuel Technologies. CRC Press. p. 290. ISBN 9780824740696. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  3. ^ Spencer Reiss (2005-12-13). "Tapping the Rock Field". WIRED magazine. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Oil Shale Test Project. Oil Shale Research and Development Project" (PDF). Shell Frontier Oil and Gas Inc. 2006-02-15. Retrieved 2007-06-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d "Secure Fuels from Domestic Resources: The Continuing Evolution of America's Oil Shale and Tar Sands Industries" (PDF). United States Department of Energy. 2007: 1–68. Retrieved 2007-07-11. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ Speight, James G. (2008). Synthetic Fuels Handbook: Properties, Process, and Performance. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 186. ISBN 9780071490238. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  7. ^ Farkas, Tamas (2008). The Investor's Guide to the Energy Revolution. Lulu.com. p. 85. ISBN 9781409202851. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  8. ^ Jon Birger (2007-11-01). "Oil shale may finally have its moment". Fortune. Retrieved 2007-11-17. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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