What is shale oil and why is it damaging to the environment. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. Jan 31, 2020 shale oil is a highquality crude oil that lies between layers of shale rock, impermeable mudstone, or siltstone. 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. For example, the heating value is useful for determining the quality of an oil shale that is burned. Although, its popularity has grown over the years, there is much to be done to make their production and processing more costeffective. The output can be used directly as a fuel or upgraded by removing impurities, such as nitrogen and sulfur, and adding hydrogen to meet refinery feedstock specifications. The resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding hydrogen and removing sulfur and nitrogen impurities shale oil extraction is usually. Refers to the practice of venting gas produced at oil wells where the well is not connected to a gas sales pipeline may be flared e. May 15, 2017 american shale oil drillers are expected to raise output again in june, as opec and other petroleum exporters appear poised to extend production cuts into 2018 the u. Shale oil light tight oil is rapidly emerging as a significant and relatively low cost new unconventional resource in the us. Processing oil shale national oil shale association. Unesco eolss sample chapters coal, oil shale, natural bitumen, heavy oil and peat vol. What oil we do use doesnt have to come from the dirtiest unconventional sources like oil shale, coaltoliquid resources, or tar.
Most natural gas production growth is expected to come from shale gas and tight oil plays march 22, 2016 wells drilled since start of 2014 provided nearly half of lower 48 oil production in 2015. Production peaked in mid2015 and fell by more than 1 million. Oil shale processing an overview sciencedirect topics. Shale oil and shale gas resources are globally abundant. Put simply, increased shale oil production could lead to oil prices that are significantly lower than projected in current forecasts. Questions and answers for shale gas, hydraulic fracturing of a reservoir is the preferred stimulation method see graphic below. At this point the history of conventional oil and that of shale oil. The term oil shale is commonly used when referring to unconventional oil, but it can be misleading. Crude shale oil, shale gas and water are produced from insitu retorts. Shale oil represents a huge additional global fossil fuel resource. However, extracting oil from the shale is no simple task.
Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil 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. Clear and rigorous, oil shale production process will. Meanwhile, operators and the oil industry should be held accountable for the emissions associated with different types of oil production, avoiding or mitigating additional emissions and impacts as much as possible. How much shale tight oil is produced in the united states. However, fluctuating oil prices, technical challenges, and major environmental issues have precluded any commercial oil shale production in utah. Purchase shale oil production processes 1st edition. Easytoread understand overview of the chemistry, engineering, and technology of shale oil. This typically involves injecting pressurized fluids to stimulate or fracture shale formations and release the natural gas. The differences between oil shale, shale oil, and shale gas. Brief but comprehensive, shale gas production processes begins with an overview of the chemistry, engineering and technology of shale gas.
Purchase shale gas production processes 1st edition. Oil shale refers to rock that has kerogen, a precursor to oil, stored in it. To this end they collect rock samples that are called drilling cores. Studies indicate that the shale gas produced is sufficient to supply a large portion of the heat needed for oil shale retorting. Commodities market trading was one of the reasons for the shale oil boom and bust. Shale oil exploration and production methods info shale. Oil shale is usually combustible in its raw state which makes it an ideal candidate for direct combustion fuels. How us shale oil production is forcing prices down bbc news.
The hydrocarbons in oil shale can be used as an alternative to petroleum or natural gas. Shale oil production relies on the availability of suitable drilling rigs and skilled labour, which is one of the reasons why the us shale oil boom so far has been difficult to replicate in other countries. Kerogen is a part of rock that breaks down and releases hydrocarbons when heated. This is when the mined rock is exposed to the process of pyrolysis applying extreme heat without the presence of oxygen to a substance, and producing a chemical change. The potential of an oil shale as a source of energy depends on the economic recoverability of oil and gas from it. Shale world oil online drilling production statistics. Nov 14, 2017 the iea said in its annual report that the rising production of both u. Energy information administration eia estimates that in 2019, about 2. With the fastestgrowing production rate in the united states, shale oil. Jan 16, 2018 shale drilling is driving the recovery in u. How us shale oil is forcing prices down jump to media player oil prices jumped over saudi arabian and iranian tensions as trading began for the new year however. The resulting oil can be used immediately as a fuel or upgraded to meet refinery feedstock specifications by adding. Definition sedimentary rock with a high organic content organic matter is known as kerogen kerogen. Development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing is crucial for economic production of shale gas reservoirs, but it must be performed with caution and as a multidisciplinary approach.
Us shale oil drilling poised to surge in february cnbc. Shale gas resources are becoming an important energy source for meeting rising energy demand over the next few decades. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock into synthetic oil and gas. If it does, it would revolutionise global energy markets, providing greater long term energy. Lower global oil prices due to increased shale oil supply could have a major impact on the future evolution of the world economy by allowing more output to be produced at the same cost. A type of unconventional oil found in shale formations. Petroleum and natural gas are probably the most familiar hydrocarbons.
Update with compositional model results production 1. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock kerogen into synthetic oil and gas. Oil shale, shale oil and shale gas are all related to these new, unconventional methods of accessing the earths oil and natural gas reserves. The manhattan institute hosts a panel discussion on the shale oil industry.
Sand pumped in with the fluids often water helps to keep the. Books related to oil shale production developments are available here in this section composition, geochemistry and conversion of oil shales download geochemistry and chemistry of oil shales download impacts of shale gas and shale oil on the environment download oil shale developments in petroleum science, 5 download oil shale dr. Oil shale must be mined using either underground or surfacemining methods. Oil companies produce shale oil by fracturing the rock formations that contain the layers of oil. Based on monitoring data, compositional differences of oil shale used for production of shale oil in estonian shale oil processing plants in 19902010 are given in table 1.
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. Us shale oil output to rise by 122,000 barrels per day in. Energy information administration eia estimates that in 2018, about 6. But how harmful is the shale oil industry to the environment. The grade of oil shale has been determined by different methods with the results being expressed in various units dyni 2003, 2006. Brief but comprehensive, shale gas production processes.
To follow the instructions detailed in every post, use the interactive dashboards. Shale oil and gas are exactly the same product as oil. Us3474863a us3474863da us3474863a us 3474863 a us3474863 a us 3474863a us 3474863d a us3474863d a us 3474863da us 3474863 a us3474863 a us 3474863a authority us united states prior art keywords zone oil solvent fluid shale prior art date 19670728 legal status the legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. What investors need to know in a confusion of terms, oil shale and shale oil take on a whole new meaning for investors, with billions of barrels of oil at stake. Hydrocarbons are substances made entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. The economics of oil shale extraction are an impediment to its commercial production. This article is about production of synthetic oil from oil shale.
Case study of shale oil production abstract shale oil or retort oil is rapidly emerging as a significant unconventional fuel in usa and successfully found a place in the world energy mix. Rising us shale production keeps pressure on crude prices. Tbp curve of a sample light sweet crude oil is being used currently. In order for oil shale production to be profitable, the industry must overcome technical, environmental, regulatory, and economic obstacles. For production of crude oil trapped in oil bearing shales tight oil, see tight oil. Oil shale exploration company osec is a mobile, ala. Shale oil, in fossil fuel production, is an unconventional oil. After excavation, the oil shale must undergo retorting.
Shale oil is a highquality crude oil that lies between layers of shale rock, impermeable mudstone, or siltstone. That was enough to allow shale exploration and production to be profitable. Processes like thermal dissolution, pyrolysis and hydrogenation are used to extract this oil from shale rock. 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. Firefox is created by a global nonprofit dedicated to putting individuals in control online. Natural gas development stages marcellus shale coalition. Guo encyclopedia of life support systems eolss are wellknown catalytic poisons in various refining processes. The crude shale oil produced is a quality that requires less upgrading than oil from most exsitu processes, but recoveries are somewhat less. The industry has never operated at a profitable level, and the sheer size of the. What shale oil exploration and production methods are used. Oil shale production process will prove useful for those.
The other criticism is that author, dr speight, is optimistic about the future of shale oil, even though his objective analysis would leave any reasonable thinking human being to conclude that shale oil is s, in terms of economics, chemistry, geology, the environment, full cost accounting, the amount of resources required etc. The us story and its implications, global energy center senior fellow ellen scholl looks at the factors which enabled the rise of oil and gas production from shale deposits, focusing on the developments which have transpired in texas. The extraction of natural gas from shale formations is no simple task and perhaps the most expensive when compared to over unconventional gases. Below is a graphic on the various stages of natural gas development, all of which require significant capital investment and a skilled and trained workforce to. Oil processing design specifications oil composition 1. Shale oil is light, lowviscosity, and low in sulfur, making it desirable. Bakken shale process characteristics needed to estimate emissions quantity of gas vented per barrel of oil production mcfbbl fraction of gas flared composition of the vented gas. To increase the efficiency of oil shale retorting and by this the viability of the shale oil production, researchers have proposed and tested several copyrolysis processes, in which other materials such as biomass, peat, waste bitumen, or rubber and plastic wastes are retorted along with the oil shale. Speight phd, dsc, in shale oil production processes, 2012. The nook book ebook of the shale oil production processes by james g. Oil shale is a type of sedimentary rock that is rich in kerogen.
James g speight shale oil represents a huge additional global fossil fuel resource. This is quickly followed by selfcontained chapters concerning new and evolving process technologies and their applications as well as environmental regulations. Read about some of the positive and negative global consequences of emerging oil shale production on the next page. Which companies are the biggest shale players in the u. Utah oil shale was deposited as organicrich sediments in a freshwater lake lake uinta about 50 million years ago see related article by michael vanden berg, survey notes, may, 2011, v. Topics include technological developments in the industry, oil production capacity in the u. The production of shale oil lowered the current crude oil. May 11, 2017 us shale oil output is growing at a faster than expected rate, keeping pressure on prices despite steep supply curbs from some of the worlds biggest producers, opec said in its monthly market. These effects could build up gradually as shale oil production rolls out across the world to produce an estimated rise in global gdp of around 2. Methods which should reduce environmental footprint.
Modern hydraulic fracturing technology involves sophisticated engineering processes designed to create distinct fracture networks. To assess this matter, we must look at issues such as land use, water and air pollution, and waste management. Americas shale boom got the world accustomed to soaring production. Aug 03, 2017 with slumping crude oil prices stuck below where they started this year, u. Estimated shale oil and shale gas resources in the united states and in 7 shale formations in 41 other countries represent 10% of the worlds crude oil and 32% of the worlds natural gas technically recoverable resources, or those that can be produced using current technology without reference to economic profitability, according to a new eiasponsored study see table 1. Why the shale boom is slowing and what that means for oil.