Review of unconventional hydrocarbon resources: production technologies and opportunities for development

Abstract

Purpose. Study the state of modern technologies for the extraction of unconventional hydrocarbon resources and determine the prospects for their development. Methods. The method of qualitative and quantitative analysis of scientific literature, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, national reports on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative standard, as well as open Internet sources, are used in the research. Structurally, the research consists of a sequential analysis of the main types of unconventional hydrocarbon resources. The analysis of each type of unconventional hydrocarbon resources is to determine its main geological characteristics, conditions of occurrence, prospecting-predicting criteria and peculiarities, technologies of recovery, country (geographic) localization and statistical data on production dynamics. Findings. The research presents a systematization of the main types of unconventional hydrocarbon resources, such as oil and gas of shale strata, tight sands gas (basin-central gas type and tight sands gas), methane gas of coal fields, bituminous and oil sands, oil from oil shale, as well as their sequential analysis. The definitions of the main types of unconventional hydrocarbon resources according to Russian and English terminology are synchronized. Depending on the type of unconventional hydrocarbon resources, the conditions for their occurrence, prospecting-predicting criteria and diagnostic properties, country (geographic) localization are determined. The research presents the world experience in the recovery of unconventional hydrocarbon resources (North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region), as well as the dynamics of shale gas and oil recovery (using the example of the United States). Originality. A sequential systematic analysis of unconventional hydrocarbon resources, depending on their type, has been made. Practical implications. The main objectives have been determined for solving the problem of using the unconventional hydrocarbon sources potential, which can lead to the conclusions about the prospects for the unconventional hydrocarbon resources recovery. It is advisable to assess the necessity of studying unconventional hydrocarbon resources in countries oriented on the use of traditional resources.

Comparison of the Porosity Parameter in Sediments Obtained Using Traditional and Precision Methods (Cenomanian Deposits in Western Siberia, Russia)

“…Weight-based methods often assume that reservoir properties, such as porosity and saturation, are uniform throughout. In reality, reservoirs may exhibit significant heterogeneity, which may affect the assessment of reserves (Tolmachev et al 2020;Panikarovskiy et al 2021). In our study, we confirmed these conclusions by measuring the porosity of core samples of the Cenomanian deposits using MCT and liquid saturation methods.…”

Evaluation of the CO2 Storage Capacity in Sandstone Formations from the Southeast Mesohellenic trough (Greece)

“…Energies 2022, 15, 3491 2 of 25 constitute a vital and sustainable solution to safely capture and permanently store CO 2 and other greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), for which permeable geologic formations are already being considered environmentally safe and economically viable solutions [5,6]. Moreover, throughout lab and field experiments, the potential of CO 2 use for geological carbon storage (GCS) and enhanced oil/gas recovery in shales, as well as the partial replacement of CH 4 with CO 2 , has been confirmed [7][8][9]. In recent years, research has been conducted focusing on determining the most appropriate geological formations as natural reservoirs for CO 2 , either for utilization or long-term storage via sequestration, with the formation of new stable mineral phases.…”

Assessing the clustering effect for extraction and processing of raw materials (using the example of the Kuzbass cluster "Complex processing of coal and industrial waste")

“…Russia ranks second in the world in terms of coal reserves. According to various estimates, 17.6 to 18.2% of these mineral reserves are concentrated in Russia (over 157 billion tons) (Tolmachev et al, 2020). According to OPEC, oil reserves (at current production volumes) will last for 30-40 years, natural gas for 75-80 years, and coal for 400-500 years (Goncharenko et al, 2019).…”