Oil Shale
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Researchers Develop Process That Could Result in Higher Yield from Oil Shale
September 22, 2008
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| Results from the retort experiments for oil shale (OS) samples. Click to enlarge. Credit: ACS |
Researchers in Canada and Turkey have developed a new process that could lead to the more economical production of oil shale with increased yield. In laboratory-scale experiments, the researchers added inexpensive iron powder to four different types of oil shale combined with heating with electric coils. Production increased by more than 100% for one of the shale samples. Their study is scheduled for the November 19 issue of the journal Energy & Fuels.
Oil shale is a generic term applied to fine-grained sedimentary rock that contains significant amounts of kerogen, an organic precursor to oil and gas. Heated to the right temperature in the Earth’s crust, some types of kerogen release oil or gas. If such kerogens are present in high concentration in rocks, such as shale, and have not been heated to a sufficient temperature to release their hydrocarbons, they may form oil shale deposits.
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Shell In-Situ Oil Shale Process Emits 21-47% More GHG on a Full Fuel Cycle Basis than Conventional Petroleum
August 25, 2008
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| Full-fuel-cycle emissions from low and high primary cases for Shell ICP, in grams of carbon equivalent per megajoule of refined fuel delivered as compared to conventional oil emissions. Click to enlarge. Credit: ACS. |
Shell’s in situ conversion process for oil shale produces an energy output of 1.2-1.6 times greater than the total primary energy inputs to the process, according to a new analysis by Dr. Adam Brandt at UC Berkeley.
However, in the absence of capturing CO2 generated from electricity produced to fuel the process, well-to-pump GHG emissions are in the range of 30.6-37.1 grams of carbon equivalent per megajoule of refined fuel delivered (gCequiv/MJ RFD). These full-fuel-cycle emissions are 21%-47% larger than those from conventionally produced petroleum-based fuels. Brandt’s study is published online in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
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Queensland Premier Puts 20-Year Moratorium on Oil Shale Development
August 24, 2008
Queensland (Australia) Premier Anna Bligh has placed a 20-year moratorium on the development of oil shale in the state. The announcement immediately blocks the further development of a planned demonstration plant over the McFarlane oil shale deposit in the Whitsunday region. Bligh said she would not allow the environment to be put at risk while the technology for extraction of the resource was still not proven.
Currently only one lease exists to mine oil shale, in Gladstone. The Australian state will permit no new oil shale mines, and the state government will begin a two-year review to determine if oil shale deposits can be used in an environmentally acceptable way. The Premier said the decision was effective immediately and would be legislated in the coming months.
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USGS Assesses Bakken Formation to Hold 3 to 4.3 Billion Barrels of Technically Recoverable Oil; 25 Times More Than 1995 Estimate
April 11, 2008
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| Map showing Williston Basin Province boundary (in red), Bakken-Lodgepole Total Petroleum System (TPS) (in blue), and major structural features in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Click to enlarge. |
North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin, according to a just-released assessment by the US Geological Survey (USGS). This latest assessment shows a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency’s 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil.
The assessment also identified 1.85 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 148 million barrels of natural gas liquids.
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Schlumberger Acquires Raytheon Technology for Oil Extraction from Oil Shale and Oil Sands
January 23, 2008
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| Radio Frequency / Critical Fluid Oil Extraction Technology. Click to enlarge. |
Schlumberger, a leading oilfield services company, has acquired Raytheon’s technology for the extraction of oil from oil shale and oil sands. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
The technology, developed by Raytheon and partner CF Technologies for oil shale processing, combines radio frequency (RF) technology from Raytheon with critical fluid (CF) technology from CF Technologies. (Earlier post.) Raytheon has projected that the same process could also be used to retrieve oil from Canadian oil sands and to reprocess spent wells.
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BLM Publishes Draft Environmental Study for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources on Public Lands; Proposes Allocating 1.9M Acres for Development
December 26, 2007
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| Most geologically prospective oil shale resources within the Green River formation basins in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Click to enlarge. |
As required under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has published a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to guide future management of public lands containing oil shale and tar sands resources in the US.
Under the recommended proposal in the Draft PEIS, the BLM would amend land use plans to allocate approximately 1.9 million acres of public lands in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming for potential commercial oil shale development.
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Petrobras and Total to Evaluate Oil Shale Opportunities in Africa and in the Middle East
December 22, 2007
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| General schema for a Gas Combustion Retort of the type used by Petrobras in its Petrosix oil shale production process. Click to enlarge. |
Petrobras and Total E&P Activites Petrolieres signed a cooperation agreement to evaluate the exploration, development, and production of oil extracted from oil shale deposits in specific regions in African and Middle Eastern countries. Under the agreement, the companies will carry out studies, exchange information, and negotiate concession agreements.
Petrobras and Total’s technical teams will analyze the projects’ viability, including aspects such as the environment, and legal, technical, and economic issues. If viability is confirmed and approved by the respective executive boards, a project development evaluation will be undertaken, and Petrobras will be the operator.
