Characteristics of Oil and Gas Produced by <i>In Situ</i> Heating of Shale: A Case Study of the Chang 7 Member, Ordos Basin, China

Hou, Lianhua; X, Luo; Mi, Jingkui; Yan, Zhang; Lin, Senhu; Liao, Fengrong; Pang, Zhenglian; Yu, Zhichao

doi:10.1021/acs.energyfuels.1c03770

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The organic matter in the Nenjiang Formation is immature to low-moderate maturity, and thus, makes a relatively small contribution to the conventional hydrocarbon accumulation in the Songliao Basin [32]. Moreover, the hydrocarbons generated from the shales of the Nenjiang Formation have mainly accumulated in the Heidimiao oil reservoir, which has proven petroleum reserves of less than 8000×10 4 tons. The distribution of the Ro values determined via core analysis of the Nenjiang Formation samples is limited, and previous studies have focused on local depressions and limited areas, which makes it difficult to meet the requirements for the detailed evaluation of the Ro across the entire basin [32][33][34].…”

Section: Key Parameters For In-situ Conversionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shale oil has become an important source of energy in the exploitation of global hydrocarbon reserves [1][2][3][4]. The most developed continental shale in China is mainly distributed in northern areas such as the Ordos, Songliao, Bohai Bay, and Junggar basins, which cover an area of approximately 400,000 square kilometers, with 200,000 square kilometers of it comprised of layers containing ultrarich organic matter (TOC > 4 wt.%) and Ro values less than 1.0% [5][6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of Recoverable Hydrocarbon Reserves and Area Selection Methods for In-Situ Conversion of Shale

Hou,

Zhao,

Luo

et al. 2024

Preprint

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It’s well known that existing horizontal well drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology that is used to achieve large-scale cost-effective production from immature to low-moderate maturity continental shale in China, where the organic matter mainly exists in the solid form is fairly ineffective. To overcome the obstacles, in-situ conversion technology seems feasible, while implementing it in the target layer along with estimating the amount of expected recoverable hydrocarbon in such shale formations seems difficult. This is because there is no guideline to choose the most appropriate method and select relevant key parameters for this purpose. Hence, based on thermal simulation experiments during the in-situ conversion of crude oil from the Triassic Chang 73 Formation in the Ordos Basin and the Cretaceous Nenjiang Formation in the Songliao Basin, this deficiency in knowledge was addressed. First, relationships between the in-situ converted total organic carbon (TOC) content and the vitrinite reflectance (Ro) of the shales and between the residual oil volume and the hydrocarbon yield was established. Second, the yields of residual oil and in-situ converted hydrocarbon were measured, revealing their sensitivity to fluid pressure and crude oil density. In addition, a model was proposed to estimate the amount of in-situ converted hydrocarbon based on the TOC, hydrocarbon generation potential, Ro, residual oil volume, fluid pressure, and crude oil density. Finally, a method was established to determine key parameters on the final hydrocarbon yield from immature to low-moderate maturity organic material during in-situ conversion in shales. Following the procedure outlined in this paper, estimated recoverable in-situ converted oil in the shales of the Nenjiang Formation in the Songliao Basin was estimated to be approximately 292×108 tons, along with 18.5×1012 cubic meters of natural gas, in an area of approximately 8×104 square kilometers. Collectively, the method developed in this study is independent from the organic matter type and other geological and/or petrophysical properties of the formation and can be applied to other areas globally where there isn’t any available in-situ conversion thermal simulation experimental data.

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Section: Key Parameters For In-situ Conversionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Recoverable Hydrocarbon Reserves and Area Selection Methods for In-Situ Conversion of Shale

Hou,

Zhao,

Luo

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Shale oil has become an important source of energy in the exploitation of global hydrocarbon reserves [1][2][3][4]. The most developed continental shale in China is mainly distributed in northern areas, such as the Ordos, Songliao, Bohai Bay, and Junggar Basins, which cover an area of approximately 400,000 square kilometers, with 200,000 square kilometers of it comprising layers containing ultra-rich organic matter (TOC > 4 wt.%) and having Ro values less than 1.0% [5][6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Recoverable Hydrocarbon Reserves and Area Selection Methods for In Situ Conversion of Shale

Hou,

Zhao,

Luo

et al. 2024

Energies

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It is well known that the existing horizontal-well-drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology used to achieve large-scale, cost-effective production from immature to low–moderate-maturity continental shale in China, where the organic matter mainly exists in solid form, is fairly ineffective. To overcome the obstacles, in situ conversion technology seems feasible, while implementing it in the target layer along with estimating the amount of expected recoverable hydrocarbon in such shale formations seems difficult. This is because there are no guidelines for choosing the most appropriate method and selecting relevant key parameters for this purpose. Hence, based on thermal simulation experiments during the in situ conversion of crude oil from the Triassic Chang 73 Formation in the Ordos Basin and the Cretaceous Nenjiang Formation in the Songliao Basin, this deficiency in knowledge was addressed. First, relationships between the in situ-converted total organic carbon (TOC) content and the vitrinite reflectance (Ro) of the shales and between the residual oil volume and the hydrocarbon yield were established. Second, the yields of residual oil and in situ-converted hydrocarbon were measured, revealing their sensitivity to fluid pressure and crude oil density. In addition, a model was proposed to estimate the amount of in situ-converted hydrocarbon based on TOC, hydrocarbon generation potential, Ro, residual oil volume, fluid pressure, and crude oil density. Finally, a method was established to determine key parameters of the final hydrocarbon yield from immature to low–moderate-maturity organic material during in situ conversion in shales. Following the procedure outlined in this paper, the estimated recoverable in situ-converted oil in the shales of the Nenjiang Formation in the Songliao Basin was estimated to be approximately 292 × 108 tons, along with 18.5 × 1012 cubic meters of natural gas, in an area of approximately 8 × 104 square kilometers. Collectively, the method developed in this study is independent of the organic matter type and other geological and/or petrophysical properties of the formation and can be applied to other areas globally where there are no available in situ conversion thermal simulation experimental data.

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“…Although the resource potential of low-medium-maturity shale oil is huge, the reservoir's physical properties are poor, and the oil has low mobility caused by large shale oil molecules, strong polarity, and high wax content [6]. The in situ conversion process (ICP) mining method proposed by Dutch Shell is regarded as one of the most-advanced technologies for the in situ exploitation of low-medium-maturity shale oil.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat-Induced Pore Structure Evolution in the Triassic Chang 7 Shale, Ordos Basin, China: Experimental Simulation of In Situ Conversion Process

Zhao

Hou

et al. 2023

JMSE

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The reservoir properties of low–medium-maturity shale undergo complex changes during the in situ conversion process (ICP). The experiments were performed at high temperature (up to 450 °C), high pressure (30 MPa), and a low heating rate (0.4 °C/h) on low–medium-maturity shale samples of the Chang 7 Member shale in the southern Ordos Basin. The changes in the shale composition, pore structure, and reservoir properties during the ICP were quantitatively characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), microscopic observation, vitrinite reflectance (Ro), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and reservoir physical property measurements. The results showed that a sharp change occurred in mineral and maceral composition, pore structure, porosity, and permeability at a temperature threshold of 350 °C. In the case of a temperature > 350 °C, pyrite, K-feldspar, ankerite, and siderite were almost completely decomposed, and organic matter (OM) was cracked into large quantities of oil and gas. Furthermore, a three-scale millimeter–micrometer–nanometer pore–fracture network was formed along the shale bedding, between OM and mineral particles and within OM, respectively. During the ICP, porosity and permeability showed a substantial improvement, with porosity increasing by approximately 10-times and permeability by 2- to 4-orders of magnitude. Kerogen pyrolysis, clay–mineral transformation, unstable mineral dissolution, and thermal stress were the main mechanisms for the substantial improvement in the reservoir’s physical properties. This study is expected to provide a basis for formulating a heating procedure and constructing a numerical model of reservoir properties for the ICP field pilot in the Chang 7 shale of the Ordos Basin.

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Characteristics of Oil and Gas Produced by In Situ Heating of Shale: A Case Study of the Chang 7 Member, Ordos Basin, China

Cited by 5 publications

References 19 publications

Evaluation of Recoverable Hydrocarbon Reserves and Area Selection Methods for In-Situ Conversion of Shale

Evaluation of Recoverable Hydrocarbon Reserves and Area Selection Methods for In-Situ Conversion of Shale

Evaluation of Recoverable Hydrocarbon Reserves and Area Selection Methods for In Situ Conversion of Shale

Heat-Induced Pore Structure Evolution in the Triassic Chang 7 Shale, Ordos Basin, China: Experimental Simulation of In Situ Conversion Process

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