页岩气的发展
2013.07.16
WHAT IS SHALE OIL?
页岩气/油是何物? 它在美国的分布区和开采方式
U.S. Western oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock which is very rich in organic sedimentary material called “kerogen.” The shale is heated to separate the kerogen from the rock and the resultant liquid is converted to superior quality jet fuel, diesel fuel, kerosene, and other high value products.
An announcement from the U.S. Geological Survey raised previous estimates of oil shale in the Piceance Basin by 50%. Previous U.S. oil shale technically recoverable resource estimates totaled 2.118 trillion barrels.[i] The new announcement brings the total technically recoverable oil shale resource estimate to 2.6 trillion barrels. The richest, most concentrated deposits in the U.S. are found in the Green River Formation in western Colorado, eastern Utah, and southern Wyoming (see graph at below).
The potential that oil shale holds here in the United States can be seen by the following graph:
Depending on technology and economics, as much as 1 trillion barrels of oil equivalent could be recoverable from oil shale resources yielding greater than 25 gallons per ton [iii]. For reference, 1 trillion barrels is nearly 4 times the amount of proven oil reserves in Saudi Arabia. The energy potential from our vast resources of oil shale could substantially shift the balance of America’s oil supply away from the Persian Gulf.
Shell’s In-Situ Conversion Process
In Colorado, Shell has experimented with a process that heats the shale underground. Their in-situ conversion process (ICP) uses subsurface heaters to slowly heat the shale rock to 650 – 750 degrees Fahrenheit. Once heated, the kerogen oil and gas are released from the shale and brought to the surface with traditional pumps. An advantage to the in-situ process is it significantly reduces (and in some cases eliminates) the environmental impacts from previous shale oil recovery methods .
Source: The Wall Street Journal
• The process involves no open-pit or subsurface mining
• Does not produce thousands of tons of shale waste, as the traditional mining method does
• Avoids groundwater contaminants via a “freeze wall” between the oil shale and water sources
• Minimizes water use and unwanted byproducts
As is common with new manufacturing processes, operating costs can be expected to decrease over time, as experience leads to design enhancements and improved efficiency.
Despite the great promise these resources hold, one of the first acts of the Obama administration was to withdraw the research and development oil shale leases that the Bush administration had offered consistent with the Energy Policy Act of 2005.[vi] Private sector research and development is necessary to bring these resources to market. Without these leases and the potential to commercialize the energy resource, companies will not invest the hundreds of millions of dollars required to develop the necessary technology. In Jordan, for example, Shell pledged to spend $500 million in exploration of the country’s oil shale resources in return for the right to develop these resources if the exploration was successful.
- To see how much oil the U.S. has in oil shale, check out our Energy Inventory. (Hint–the U.S. has 4 times the recoverable oil in oil shale as Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves).
Various companies are involved in the process of extracting fuels from this sedimentary rock. If it is processed efficiently, such rocks found world-wide can produce as much as 3 trillion barrels of oil. The crude oil reserves have started to disappear. At such a time, oil shale is one of the best alternatives, in fact the only alternative, humans can use to produce oil.
In order to extract fuel from the rock, it is first heated. This process gives out vapor, which is distilled. It forms various hydrocarbon chains. In early days, these rocks were actually used as fuel, as the rock can be burnt due to inbuilt kerogens.
After extracting oil from the rocks, the extracted rocks are placed back in its place to avoid erosion and pollution in the nearby area.
Although there are many reserves of oil shale in the world today, there has been a tremendous increase in the mining of such reserves lately. This process is likely to continue for a very long time, which will create an acute shortage of organic fuels. Oil Shale is an organic sedimentary rock, which high content of organic compounds. This can be used to extract fuel, and is an excellent alternative to crude oil mining.
Source : Institute of Energy
********************************************************************************************************US Is on Fast-Track to Energy Independence: Study
Published: Monday, 11 Feb 2013 | 2:29 PM ET By: Patti Domm | CNBC Executive News Editor
由於对页岩气/油的大量开发美国将依期于2035年达到能源自供而不需进口原油和天然气. 这对世界能源的供应国家和运输界将带来极大的改变和打击.
U.S. oil and gas production is evolving so rapidly—and demand is dropping so quickly—that in just five years the U.S. could no longer need to buy oil from any source but Canada, according to Citigroup's global head of commodities research.
Citigroup's Edward Morse, in a new report, projects a dramatic reshaping of the global energy industry, where the U.S., in a matter of years, becomes an exporter of energy, instead of one of the biggest importers.
The shift could sharply reduce the price of oil, and therefore limit the revenues of the producing nations of OPEC, as well as Russia and West Africa. Those nations face new challenges: not only are the U.S. and Canada increasing output, but Iraq increasingly is realizing its potential as an oil producer, adding 600,000 barrels a day of production annually for the next several years.
"OPEC will find it challenging to survive another 60 years, let alone another decade," the report by Morse and other Citi analysts said. "But not all of the consequences are positive, for when it comes to the geopolitics of energy, the likely outcomes are asymmetric, with clear cut winner and losers." (Read More: The World's 15 Biggest Oil Producers)
The U.S. is a winner in many ways. Its super power status could be prolonged because of this new growth in oil and shale gas production, made possible by "fracking" and other non-conventional drilling technologies.
Crude oil generated the largest single annual increase in liquids production in U.S. history last year, with an increase of 1.16 million barrels per day. Oil production is booming in places like Texas and North Dakota, which has the lowest unemployment in the country at just 3 percent last September, compared to the national rate of 7.8 percent then.
Citi analysts also foresee a new era of U.S. industrialization, fueled by cheaper power. They cite dozens of industrial projects across America that have already begun or are planned, in such industries as auto, chemicals and steel. (Read More: Winter Storm May Stall Gas Price Climb)
The oil producing nations of OPEC, and others, will have to adjust to a world of lower prices. Separately, OPEC, in its February report Tuesday, commented about the U.S., noting it is the fastest growing producer this year among the non-OPEC nations. But it noted there are risks associated with these supply forecasts, including weather and technical, environmental and price factors, as well as the heavy decline associated with shale drilling in the first year of production.
Source: CNBC Canada
