Chevron CRUSH

Last updated
Chevron CRUSH
Process typechemical
Industrial sector(s) chemical industry, oil industry
Feedstock oil shale
Product(s) shale oil
Leading companies Chevron Corporation
Developer(s) Chevron Research Company
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Chevron CRUSH is an experimental in situ shale oil extraction technology to convert kerogen in oil shale to shale oil. The name stands for Chevron's Technology for the Recovery and Upgrading of Oil from Shale. It is developed jointly by Chevron Corporation and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. [1]

Contents

History

The Chevron CRUSH technology bases on the earlier in situ efforts. Sinclair Oil Corporation conducted an experiment using both natural and induced fractures to establish communication between wells and developing an in situ combustion process. [2] [3] Geokinetics, the Sandia National Laboratories, and the Laramie Energy Technology Center of the U.S. Department of Energy conducted field tests fracturing oil-shale formation by explosives and hydraulic fracturing technology. [2] Equity Oil Company, Continental Oil Company and the University of Akron studied the benefit of carbon dioxide as a carrier gas to facilitate a higher yield of shale oil. [2] Based on these works, Chevron Corporation and the Los Alamos National Laboratory started a cooperation in 2006 to improve the recovery of hydrocarbons from oil shale. [1] In 2006, the United States Department of the Interior issued a research, development and demonstration lease for Chevron's demonstration project on public lands in Colorado’s Piceance Basin. [4] In February 2012, Chevron notified the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Reclamation, Mining and Safety that it intends to divest this lease. [5] [6]

Process

Chevron CRUSH process Chevron Oil Shale Project.PNG
Chevron CRUSH process

For decomposition kerogen in oil shale, the Chevron CRUSH process uses heated carbon dioxide. The process involves drilling vertical wells into the oil shale formation and applying horizontal fractures induced by injecting carbon dioxide through drilled wells and then pressured through the formation for circulation through the fractured intervals to rubblize the production zone. For further rubblization propellants and explosives may be used. The used carbon dioxide then be routed to the gas generator to be reheated and recycled. [2] [7] [8] The remaining organic matter in previously heated and depleted zones is combusted in-situ to generate the heated gases required to process successive intervals. These gases would then be pressured from the depleted zone into the newly fractured portion of the formation and the process would be repeated. [2] The hydrocarbon fluids are brought up in conventional vertical oil wells. [2] [7] [8]

Isolation of groundwater

The processing area is isolated from surrounding groundwater by creating fractured areas ("pockets"), approximately 1 to 5 acres (4,000 to 20,200 m2) wide and 50 feet (15 m) high within the center of the oil shale deposit. In this way, about 75 feet (23 m) of the confining layer would separate the process area from the water bearing layers above and below, keeping the aquifers out of the production zone. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oil shale</span> Organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen

Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general composition of oil shales constitutes inorganic substance and bitumens. Based on their deposition environment, oil shales are classified as marine, lacustrine and terrestrial oil shales. Oil shales differ from oil-bearing shales, shale deposits that contain petroleum that is sometimes produced from drilled wells. Examples of oil-bearing shales are the Bakken Formation, Pierre Shale, Niobrara Formation, and Eagle Ford Formation. Accordingly, shale oil produced from oil shale should not be confused with tight oil, which is also frequently called shale oil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerogen</span> Solid organic matter in sedimentary rocks

Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. It consists of a variety of organic materials, including dead plants, algae, and other microorganisms, that have been compressed and heated by geological processes. All the kerogen on earth is estimated to contain 1016 tons of carbon. This makes it the most abundant source of organic compounds on earth, exceeding the total organic content of living matter 10,000-fold.

Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas. 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 and nitrogen. The refined products can be used for the same purposes as those derived from crude oil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shell in situ conversion process</span>

The Shell in situ conversion process 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oil shale industry</span> Resource extraction industry

The oil shale industry is an industry of mining and processing of oil shale—a fine-grained sedimentary rock, containing significant amounts of kerogen, from which liquid hydrocarbons can be manufactured. The industry has developed in Brazil, China, Estonia and to some extent in Germany and Russia. Several other countries are currently conducting research on their oil shale reserves and production methods to improve efficiency and recovery. Estonia accounted for about 70% of the world's oil shale production in a study published in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shale oil extraction</span> Process for extracting oil from oil shale

Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil production. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impact of the oil shale industry</span>

Environmental impact of the oil shale industry includes the consideration of issues such as land use, waste management, and water and air pollution caused by the extraction and processing of oil shale. Surface mining of oil shale deposits causes the usual environmental impacts of open-pit mining. In addition, the combustion and thermal processing generate waste material, which must be disposed of, and harmful atmospheric emissions, including carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. Experimental in-situ conversion processes and carbon capture and storage technologies may reduce some of these concerns in future, but may raise others, such as the pollution of groundwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the oil shale industry</span>

The history of the oil shale industry started in ancient times. The modern industrial use of oil shale for oil extraction dates to the mid-19th century and started growing just before World War I because of the mass production of automobiles and trucks and the supposed shortage of gasoline for transportation needs. Between the World Wars oil shale projects were begun in several countries.

Oil shale gas is a synthetic non-condensable gas mixture (syngas) produced by oil shale thermal processing (pyrolysis). Although often referred to as shale gas, it differs from the natural gas produced from shale, which is also known as shale gas.

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Combustion Resources, Inc. was a consulting company based in Provo, Utah, United States. It provided consulting services in the fields of fuel and combustion, such as testing of flow and mixing systems, reactor design, gas and particle sampling, gasification modeling, and shale oil extraction design and testing. The company was incorporated in 1995 as a spin-off from the Center for Advanced Combustion Engineering Research, joint collaboration between Brigham Young University and the University of Utah.

The TOSCO II process is an above ground retorting technology for shale oil extraction, which uses fine particles of oil shale that are heated in a rotating kiln. The particularity of this process is that it use hot ceramic balls for the heat transfer between the retort and a heater. The process was tested in a 40 tonnes per hour test facility near Parachute, Colorado.

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The history of the oil shale industry in the United States goes back to the 1850s; it dates back farther as a major enterprise than the petroleum industry. But although the United States contains the world's largest known resource of oil shale, the US has not been a significant producer of shale oil since 1861. There were three major past attempts to establish an American oil shale industry: the 1850s; in the years during and after World War I; and in the 1970s and early 1980s. Each time, the oil shale industry failed because of competition from cheaper petroleum.

References

  1. 1 2 "Chevron and Los Alamos Jointly Research Oil Shale Hydrocarbon Recovery". Green Car Congress. 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Environmental assessment. Chevron Oil Shale Research, Development & Demonstration" (PDF). U.S. Department of Interior. Bureau of Land Management. White River Field Office. November 2006. CO-110-2006-120-EA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  3. ↑ Lee, Sunggyu (1991). Oil Shale Technology. CRC Press. p. 124. ISBN   0-8493-4615-0.
  4. ↑ "Interior Department Issues Oil Shale Research, Development and Demonstration Leases for Public Lands in Colorado" (Press release). Bureau of Land Management. 2006-12-15. Archived from the original on 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  5. ↑ "Chevron leaving Western Slope oil shale project". Denver Business Journal . 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  6. ↑ Hooper, Troy (2012-02-29). "Chevron giving up oil shale research in western Colorado to pursue other projects". The Colorado Independent . Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  7. 1 2 "Secure Fuels from Domestic Resources: The Continuing Evolution of America's Oil Shale and Tar Sands Industries" (PDF). United States Department of Energy. 2007. pp. 1–68. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  8. 1 2 "Oil Shale Research, Development & Demonstration Project. Plan of Operation" (PDF). Chevron USA Inc. 2006-02-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
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