IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i11p4386-d1158444.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Technical Scheme and Application Prospects of Oil Shale In Situ Conversion: A Review of Current Status

Author

Listed:
  • Shangli Liu

    (State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Haifeng Gai

    (State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
    CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou 510640, China)

  • Peng Cheng

    (State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
    CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou 510640, China)

Abstract

Petroleum was the most-consumed energy source in the world during the past century. With the continuous global consumption of conventional oil, shale oil is known as a new growth point in oil production capacity. However, medium–low mature shale oil needs to be exploited after in situ conversion due to the higher viscosity of oil and the lower permeability of shale. This paper summarizes previous studies on the process of kerogen cracking to generate oil and gas, and the development of micropore structures and fractures in organic-rich shale formations during in situ conversion. The results show that the temperature of kerogen cracking to generate oil and gas is generally 300–450 °C during the oil shale in situ conversion process (ICP). In addition, a large number of microscale pores and fractures are formed in oil shale formation, which forms a connecting channel and improves the permeability of the oil shale formation. In addition, the principles and the latest technical scheme of ICP, namely, conduction heating, convection heating, reaction-heat heating, and radiation heating, are introduced in detail. Meanwhile, this paper discusses the influence of the heating mode, formation conditions, the distribution pattern of wells, and catalysts on the energy consumption of ICP technology in the process of oil shale in situ conversion. Lastly, a fine description of the hydrocarbon generation process of the target formation, the development of new and efficient catalysts, and the support of carbon capture and storage in depleted organic-rich shale formations after in situ conversion are important for improving the future engineering efficiency of ICP.

Suggested Citation

  • Shangli Liu & Haifeng Gai & Peng Cheng, 2023. "Technical Scheme and Application Prospects of Oil Shale In Situ Conversion: A Review of Current Status," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-22, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:11:p:4386-:d:1158444
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/11/4386/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/11/4386/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Niu, Daming & Sun, Pingchang & Ma, Lin & Zhao, Kang'an & Ding, Cong, 2023. "Porosity evolution of Minhe oil shale under an open rapid heating system and the carbon storage potentials," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 783-799.
    2. Hashemi, Rohallah & Nassar, Nashaat N. & Pereira Almao, Pedro, 2014. "Nanoparticle technology for heavy oil in-situ upgrading and recovery enhancement: Opportunities and challenges," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 374-387.
    3. Wang, Guoying & Liu, Shaowei & Yang, Dong & Fu, Mengxiong, 2022. "Numerical study on the in-situ pyrolysis process of steeply dipping oil shale deposits by injecting superheated water steam: A case study on Jimsar oil shale in Xinjiang, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PC).
    4. Xu, Shaotao & Lü, Xiaoshu & Sun, Youhong & Guo, Wei & Li, Qiang & Liu, Lang & Kang, Shijie & Deng, Sunhua, 2023. "Optimization of temperature parameters for the autothermic pyrolysis in-situ conversion process of oil shale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    5. Huang, HanWei & Yu, Hao & Xu, WenLong & Lyu, ChengSi & Micheal, Marembo & Xu, HengYu & Liu, He & Wu, HengAn, 2023. "A coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical model for production performance of oil shale reservoirs during in-situ conversion process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    6. Guo, Wei & Yang, Qinchuan & Deng, Sunhua & Li, Qiang & Sun, Youhong & Su, Jianzheng & Zhu, Chaofan, 2022. "Experimental study of the autothermic pyrolysis in-situ conversion process (ATS) for oil shale recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    7. Alexey V. Vakhin, 2022. "Rock Mineral Components’ Effects on Heavy and Shale Oil Transformation during Aquathermolysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-13, August.
    8. Xu, HengYu & Yu, Hao & Fan, JingCun & Xia, Jun & Liu, He & Wu, HengAn, 2022. "Formation mechanism and structural characteristic of pore-networks in shale kerogen during in-situ conversion process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    9. Guoying Wang & Dong Yang & Zhiqin Kang & Jing Zhao, 2018. "Anisotropy in Thermal Recovery of Oil Shale—Part 1: Thermal Conductivity, Wave Velocity and Crack Propagation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, January.
    10. Kang, Zhiqin & Zhao, Yangsheng & Yang, Dong, 2020. "Review of oil shale in-situ conversion technology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    11. Penglin Zhang & Yinbo Xu & Qingtao Meng & Zhaojun Liu & Jiaqiang Zhang & Lin Shen & Shuaihua Zhang, 2020. "Sequence Stratigraphy and Geochemistry of Oil Shale Deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation of the Songliao Basin, NE China: Implications for the Geological Optimization of In Situ Oil ," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, June.
    12. Saif, Tarik & Lin, Qingyang & Gao, Ying & Al-Khulaifi, Yousef & Marone, Federica & Hollis, David & Blunt, Martin J. & Bijeljic, Branko, 2019. "4D in situ synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy and laser-based heating study of oil shale pyrolysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1468-1475.
    13. Michael D. Lewan, 1998. "Sulphur-radical control on petroleum formation rates," Nature, Nature, vol. 391(6663), pages 164-166, January.
    14. Hao Zeng & Wentong He & Lihong Yang & Jianzheng Su & Xianglong Meng & Xueqi Cen & Wei Guo, 2022. "Evolution of Biomarker Maturity Parameters and Feedback to the Pyrolysis Process for In Situ Conversion of Nongan Oil Shale in Songliao Basin," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-20, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lianhua Hou & Zhongying Zhao & Xia Luo & Jingkui Mi & Zhenglian Pang & Lijun Zhang & Senhu Lin, 2024. "Evaluation of Recoverable Hydrocarbon Reserves and Area Selection Methods for In Situ Conversion of Shale," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-24, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nie, Bin, 2023. "Study on thermal decomposition of oil shale: Two-phase fluid simulation in wellbore," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    2. Zhan, Honglei & Yang, Qi & Qin, Fankai & Meng, Zhaohui & Chen, Ru & Miao, Xinyang & Zhao, Kun & Yue, Wenzheng, 2022. "Comprehensive preparation and multiscale characterization of kerogen in oil shale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    3. Zhang, Xu & Guo, Wei & Pan, Junfan & Zhu, Chaofan & Deng, Sunhua, 2024. "In-situ pyrolysis of oil shale in pressured semi-closed system: Insights into products characteristics and pyrolysis mechanism," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    4. Xu, Shaotao & Sun, Youhong & Yang, Qinchuan & Wang, Han & Kang, Shijie & Guo, Wei & Shan, Xuanlong & He, Wentong, 2023. "Product migration and regional reaction characteristics in the autothermic pyrolysis in-situ conversion process of low-permeability Huadian oil shale core," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    5. Juan Jin & Jiandong Liu & Weidong Jiang & Wei Cheng & Xiaowen Zhang, 2022. "Evolution of the Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity of Oil Shale with Temperature and Its Relationship with Anisotropic Pore Structure Evolution," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-16, October.
    6. Yang, Qinchuan & Guo, Wei & Xu, Shaotao & Zhu, Chaofan, 2023. "The autothermic pyrolysis in-situ conversion process for oil shale recovery: Effect of gas injection parameters," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    7. Huang, HanWei & Yu, Hao & Xu, WenLong & Lyu, ChengSi & Micheal, Marembo & Xu, HengYu & Liu, He & Wu, HengAn, 2023. "A coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical model for production performance of oil shale reservoirs during in-situ conversion process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    8. Juan Jin & Weidong Jiang & Jiandong Liu & Junfeng Shi & Xiaowen Zhang & Wei Cheng & Ziniu Yu & Weixi Chen & Tingfu Ye, 2023. "Numerical Analysis of In Situ Conversion Process of Oil Shale Formation Based on Thermo-Hydro-Chemical Coupled Modelling," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-17, February.
    9. Guo, Wei & Zhang, Xu & Sun, Youhong & Li, Qiang & Liu, Zhao, 2023. "Migration mechanism of pyrolysis oil during oil shale in situ pyrolysis exploitation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    10. Dazhong Ren & Zhendong Wang & Fu Yang & Hao Zeng & Chenyuan Lü & Han Wang & Senhao Wang & Shaotao Xu, 2024. "Study on the Applicability of Autothermic Pyrolysis In Situ Conversion Process for Low-Grade Oil Shale: A Case Study of Tongchuan, Ordos Basin, China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-21, June.
    11. Wang, Lei & Yang, Dong & Zhang, Yuxing & Li, Wenqing & Kang, Zhiqin & Zhao, Yangsheng, 2022. "Research on the reaction mechanism and modification distance of oil shale during high-temperature water vapor pyrolysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    12. Pan, Bin & Yin, Xia & Yang, Zhengru & Ghanizadeh, Amin & Debuhr, Chris & Clarkson, Christopher R. & Gou, Feifei & Zhu, Weiyao & Ju, Yang & Iglauer, Stefan, 2024. "Real-time imaging of oil shale pyrolysis dynamics at nanoscale via environmental scanning electron microscopy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 363(C).
    13. Kang, Zhiqin & Jiang, Xing & Wang, Lei & Yang, Dong & Ma, Yulin & Zhao, Yangsheng, 2023. "Comparative investigation of in situ hydraulic fracturing and high-temperature steam fracturing tests for meter-scale oil shale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    14. Niu, Daming & Sun, Pingchang & Ma, Lin & Zhao, Kang'an & Ding, Cong, 2023. "Porosity evolution of Minhe oil shale under an open rapid heating system and the carbon storage potentials," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 783-799.
    15. Wang, Guoying & Liu, Shaowei & Yang, Dong & Fu, Mengxiong, 2022. "Numerical study on the in-situ pyrolysis process of steeply dipping oil shale deposits by injecting superheated water steam: A case study on Jimsar oil shale in Xinjiang, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PC).
    16. Shi, Yu & Zhang, Yulong & Song, Xianzhi & Cui, Qiliang & Lei, Zhihong & Song, Guofeng, 2023. "Injection energy utilization efficiency and production performance of oil shale in-situ exploitation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PB).
    17. Yuxing Zhang & Dong Yang, 2024. "Simulation Study on the Heat Transfer Characteristics of Oil Shale under Different In Situ Pyrolysis Methods Based on CT Digital Rock Cores," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-21, August.
    18. Hao Wang & Xiaogang Li & Jingyi Zhu & Zhaozhong Yang & Jie Zhou & Liangping Yi, 2022. "Numerical Simulation of Oil Shale Pyrolysis under Microwave Irradiation Based on a Three-Dimensional Porous Medium Multiphysics Field Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-20, April.
    19. Kang, Shijie & Zhang, Shijing & Wang, Zhendong & Li, Shengli & Zhao, Fangci & Yang, Jie & Zhou, Lingbo & Deng, Yang & Sun, Guidong & Yu, Hongdong, 2023. "Highly efficient catalytic pyrolysis of oil shale by CaCl2 in subcritical water," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    20. Kang, Zhiqin & Zhao, Yangsheng & Yang, Dong, 2020. "Review of oil shale in-situ conversion technology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:11:p:4386-:d:1158444. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.