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Shell in situ conversion process

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Shell ICP
Process typechemical
Industrial sector(s)chemical industry, oil industry
Feedstockoil shale
Product(s)shale oil
Leading companiesShell Oil Company
Main facilitiesMahogany 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.

History

Shell's experimental in-situ oil shale facility, Piceance Basin, Colorado.

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, and was completed mid-2005.[3]

Process

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

A RAND study in 2005 estimated that production of 100,000 barrels of oil a day (5.4 million tons/year) would theoretically require a dedicated power generating capacity of 1.2 gigawatts (10 billion kWh/year), assuming deposit richness of 25 gallons per ton, with 100% pyrolysis efficiency, and 100% extraction of pyrolysis products.[1] If this amount of electricity were to be generated by a coal-fired power plant, it would consume five million ton of coal annually (about 2.2 million toe).[7] Although this method is energy-intensive, it compares well to heavy oil projects such as oil sands development.[citation needed] In 2006, Shell estimated that over the project life cycle, for every unit of energy consumed, three to four units would be produced.[4][5]

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]

Current implementations

In 2006, Shell received a Bureau of Land Management lease to pursue a large demonstration with a capacity of 1,500 barrels/day; Shell has since dropped those plans and is currently planning a test based on ICP that would produce a total of 1,500 barrels, together with baking soda (nahcolite), over a seven year period.[9][10]

In Israel, IEI, a subsidiary of IDT Corp. is planning a shale pilot based on ICP technology. The project would produce a total of 1,500 barrels. However, IEI has also announced that any subsequent projects would not use ICP technology, but would instead utilize horizontal wells and hot gas heating methods.[11]

In Jordan, Shell subsidiary JOSCO plans to use ICP technology to achieve commercial production by the "late 2020s."[12] In October, 2011, it was reported that JOSCO had drilled more than 100 test holes over the prior two years, apparently for the sake of testing shale samples.[13]

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)
  9. ^ ""NEPA approval DOI-BLM-CO-110-2011-0042-DNA"" (PDF). 2011-7. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ "Oil Shale Update, National Oil Shale Assoc" (PDF). 2011-6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "IEI Report, Shfela Oil Shale Pilot" (PDF). October 2010: 18. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ "JOSCO website".
  13. ^ "100 wells dug by Shell".
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